Dolomedes okefinokensis - when is she mature? Anybody breed these?

[chanda]

So, last night I was feeding my spiders and I noticed that one of my "juvenile" D. okefinokensis had molted - and developed palpal bulbs! I do have a female of the same age (and quite a bit bigger) but is there any way to tell if she is ready to mate yet, or if she still has another molt or so to go?

I know they can be mature much smaller than maximum size, because my current spiders are the offspring of two wild-caught females I bought last year. One was nearly twice the size of the other, but both were mature and produced fertile sacs at about the same time.

Has anybody ever had any luck breeding these lovely spiders? Any tips?

 

[arachnoherp]

I know with many true spiders the presence of an epigynum (dark spot or hole underneath the abdomen) usually appears on the last molt of a mature female.