well here in TN the weather can be kind of unpredictable (it snowed yesterday after haveing a straight week of warm weather) but its pretty much spring already here and ive already found one Araneus diadematus sling and one Argiope aurantia sling (both smaller than my pinkie nail). also the mother isnt there because it died over winter and the babies are going to emerge without her. i wouldnt try keeping one in captivity, i tried that and it didnt do well but Argiope aurantia do well in those mesh butterfly/Caterpillar cage thing
I've had the same problem with the local Araneus sp. and Eriophora sp. in captivity. They just wouldn't web for me (though they did make egg sacs) so I ended up turning them loose. I also released the babies when they hatched.
Oh there amazing! the one i kept produced the most amazing feedings ive ever seen. what ive noticed is the key to finding orb weaver slings is looking on shrubs for random strands of web and if you look hard enough you can find them (although you may have to go through multiple bushes before your successful) also you can find bonus critters while searching like the paraphidippus aurantius i found while looking for one
It is not too early for them. Orb weavers typically lay their eggs in the fall, then the egg sacs overwinter and hatch when the weather warms up in the spring and there are abundant insects for them to eat. The mothers, however, are long dead by the time that happens. In the wild, cold temperatures and lack of food will finish them off - but even when brought indoors and kept warm and offered plenty of food, they don't live all that long. I've had some that I brought indoors in October or November that managed to survive another month or so - but I also had a big, beautiful mature female Neoscona crucifera in my front yard up until about a month ago. (We've had an unusually mild winter, even for SoCal!)
i think that argiopes are just better in captivity and good thing too because they look gorgeous
my Argiope aurantia dropped dead out of no where seriously like i dont even think winter had fully started yet like the day before he was eating fine she wasnt showing any signs of dying and just one day she dropped dead (rip titan)
Yeah, I do that, too! It drives my husband and kids nuts when we're hiking because I keep stopping and poking around in the bushes to try to figure out who made that web, or who's been nibbling on those leaves, or whatever. The spiders I typically find in the bushes here are an assortment of crab spiders, lynx spiders, and jumpers, with the occasional Diguetia or small Araneus or Metepeira thrown in. If I go out at night, I'm more likely to find wolf spiders, tetragnathidae (over the streams), Latrodectus, and the occasional tarantula - and the Agelenopsis are all over the place first thing in the morning, before they retreat into their web tunnels for the day.
wow i wish i had as much luck as you i thought crab spiders died off over winter but if they dont i cant find anything, never seen a lynx spider in person but i want one, that paraphiddipus was the only jumper ive seen in the last 6 months, wolfers are the only ones i find everywhere when i look for them and ive only seen 1 Agelenopsis the entire time ive lived here (about 6 years) and it sucks because i want one. but i think it could be im not looking hard enough like if i had been looking for spiders how i normally would of i would never of seen that jumper
Well, you have to remember that I'm in SoCal, so we're pretty warm anyway - and a few weeks ago, we had an unusually warm spell (even for us at this time of year) with temperatures hitting the 80's. Most of the spiders that I'm finding this time of year - like the crab spiders - are young'uns because the majority of our true spiders do die off seasonally. The Lynx spiders are great, but I haven't seen any of those yet this year. I should be finding adult specimens within the next couple of months, though - and they do really well in captivity, too! They're pretty common out here. When I go out hiking, if I take the time to poke around in the California Buckwheat and Jimson Weed, I can usually find several of them. If you want some, maybe we could work out a swap for some of the bugs that are common in your area but that I don't find out here? PM me if that's something you'd be interested in!
thats why grass spiders are everywhere and yeah ill definately PM you when i can think of something we have here that you dont although TN has alot of spiders in common with you guys we just dont see them as often
Leaving the sac outside is the best call. If you brought it inside, the consistently warm temperatures might trick the spiderlings into emerging before the season is right.Alright so hopefully come time it will hatch. I can't wait to see all the little babies.
I figured taking them in wouldn't be for the best. They seem to strive outside.
Sadly, we have also observed a reduction of Nephila clavipes and other large orbweavers in our area. I think it is because the county routinely carpet-bombs us with insecticides to control mosquitoes. (On one well-publicized occasion last fall, they inadvertently killed off millions of domestic bees because they sprayed the entire county with naled without notifying beekeepers.)
I believe it has something to do with more residential places being built in my area (there's a word for that but I can't think of it atm). When I was a kid there were wooded areas all around. The insect and animal population flourished. Now everything has been decreasing as the amount of houses has been increasing.
That SucksI'm really bumbed because agirope A. Slings were everywhere before it snowed yesterday and killed a *hecc* ton
hopefully there are more sacs that haven't hatched yet or some of the slings were able to hide out.
I hope so tooThat Sucks
Suburban sprawl.
hey youve been in the spider biz for a while in a cold place how badly does snow affect the baby orb weavers
South Carolina isn't exactly a cold place.