Artificial Insemination?

[Iska]

The last time I've seen a thread about this was forever ago. I just wanted to ask if anyone has attempted to do this lately and succeeded? What methods have you tried?

*edited to add...
I was also reading about forcing insemination through either holding the female or using a dead male (sad-face, also weeeeeirdish). Would sedation work? or are there other sexy stuff being done (smells, touches) that artificial/forced insemination wouldn't work even if insertion was successful?

 

[BorisTheSpider]

You do this with race horses and show dogs , not tarantulas .

 

[Haksilence]

As far as I know there has never been a successful artificial insemination for tarantulas.
I would think that their primitive sex organs would make this nearly impossible

 

[lalberts9310]

I can't see how it would be possible either.

 

[Trenor]

I don't know that it's impossible but after a fast search I haven't seen a lot of the research that would be needed to make it work. You would need to have information on harvesting and storage of the male sperm. How long does it remain viable after being taken from the male. Can you freeze it to keep it longer. Also is there stages when the female is viable and when she is not. With live breeding if you try and they back off if they are not ready but how would you know?

Artificial insemination is useful when trying to save a species from going extinct or when you want to pass a lot of high end genes to females to get high end offspring. IMO with the short life the male tarantulas have after maturing there is not a lot to be gained by doing this unless access to a male is extremely limited. Then I don't know how well collecting/storing/shipping/injecting would work. So with all that I don't think there is enough info to say either way.

 

[Poec54]

Artificial insemination: I've paired up many tarantulas over the years and don't see how humans could get involved in the process. Sperm would have to be taken from a male's sperm web part way thru his palp-filling process, an act rarely seen as they tend to be secretive about it. The most challenging phase is getting it into the female without injuring her. Males bend the female way back during insertion to open up access to the pouch; this would have to be done very carefully and the sperm pushed in, with a squirming female, who may be very scared or angry. This might be possible in a lab, but not for the average person.

Forced Female: Using hands or tools and forcing one or both to mate doesn't seem likely to work, as they'll be focused on you, a giant predator in their minds, and not the task at hand. The last thing they're going to think about when they're about to be eaten is procreation. How do you restrain a female without her turning all her attention to escaping from you? How does a naturally cautious male keep focused on mating with your hands/tools moving around in the cage? It's not like he's a sex-crazed maniac that'll mate with a chalk eraser if you put one near him. There's courtship on both sides that's a key part of the proceedings to communicate they're the correct species and that it's safe to approach. Maybe someone's figured out a way to do this with certain species, but again, it's not something the average person can do.

The epicenter of CBB slings production is Europe, especially Germany. I think their success is based on duplicating seasonal and climatic triggers rather than forcefully manipulating the animals.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

" It's the scourge of 'Franken/Clone T's " <--- a la Bloodborne™, message/s style lol

 

[Iska]

Thought maybe it would be an interesting thing to research and do work on for a thesis - however since you all say its highly unlikely that it would succeed I'll focus elsewhere. Thanks for the info everyone!
Would be interesting if in the future it was possible given the endangered status of some of the species in the wild and the threat that habitat destruction/the wild caught trade imposes on them.

 

[MikeC]

You do this with race horses and show dogs , not tarantulas .

And people!!
Don't forget about people.


Side note: Would a robotic male surrogate have any practical application?
I've always thought that whatever analog for pheromones that tarantulas possess would play a pivotal role in the process.

 

[Poec54]

Thought maybe it would be an interesting thing to research and do work on for a thesis - however since you all say its highly unlikely that it would succeed I'll focus elsewhere. Thanks for the info everyone!
Would be interesting if in the future it was possible given the endangered status of some of the species in the wild and the threat that habitat destruction/the wild caught trade imposes on them.

The w/c trade is non existent for the vast majority of species. Most countries are closed down, only a handful of species are exported these days. Habitat destruction is the big killer. Europeans have figured out how to breed tarantulas by replicating the triggers in their native habitats. That's where the rest of us need to focus. Spiders can do it themselves if we just give them something close to the seasons and climates they come from. A big problem is that most captive males mature randomly and are probably out of synch with female's cycles as often as not.

 

[Iska]

The w/c trade is non existent for the vast majority of species. Most countries are closed down, only a handful of species are exported these days. Habitat destruction is the big killer. Europeans have figured out how to breed tarantulas by replicating the triggers in their native habitats. That's where the rest of us need to focus. Spiders can do it themselves if we just give them something close to the seasons and climates they come from. A big problem is that most captive males mature randomly and are probably out of synch with female's cycles as often as not.

Maybe not in developed countries but I'm sure illegal activity happens. With some species being found in only 6 fragmented unprotected areas its highly likely it does - not just for pets but being sold as "medicinal".
I'll shift focus to the issues of eggsack viability and cycles I think.

 

[Veribug]

And people!!
Don't forget about people.


Side note: Would a robotic male surrogate have any practical application?
I've always thought that whatever analog for pheromones that tarantulas possess would play a pivotal role in the process.

Weird, the exact same thing crossed my mind before I saw your post. Would probably be a bit freaky though.

"Hey, great sac! Where did you get your male?"
"Oh... the robotics department"

 

[Poec54]

I'll shift focus to the issues of eggsack viability and cycles I think.

Actually, understanding tarantula's dependence on cycles, seasonality, and climates in breeding would be of great value to the hobby. What impact do the wet/dry and warm/cool seasons have on the timing of breeding and egg laying? For the survival of the species it's crucial that slings hatch out at the most favorable time, when prey is the most plentiful (small insects in abundance or larger insects hatching out too), and when there's sufficient rain, but in some places could be fog. The rainy season may or may not be the ideal time for slings to appear, as they could be washed away in heavy rains and floods; or do they have ways to get around that? At some point prior to the ideal time(s), breeding occurs. Does that mean they're pairing up during or near the end of a less favorable time?

As it is now, most people pair their spiders up when they have a fresh male. But what triggers, if any, did the female get that that's the right time to pair up? Did the male mature at the same time he would have in the wild? With females, you get a shot at getting it right every year. With males, whose captive growth and maturity rates are heavily influenced by how often and now much we feed, you have one chance. Did they mature at the right time to be in synch with the females? Or was their growth too fast or too slow? In the wild, do the natural triggers of temps and rain trigger male maturity, more than age and size? Once we get this figured out, the spiders can take it from there and do the rest.