Christoffer
Arachnosquire
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2011
- Messages
- 85
Got what I'm told is 2.1 Latrodectus dahli. Can't find any info on them online. Anyone know what the male looks like when he's mature? Will try breeding them.
Thank you I'm just scared the dahli don't have the same "tells" as many other Latrodectus. Haven't found ANY information on them.Just keep an eye on the mal's pedipalps. When they're swollen balls, he should be good to go. You can try adding a bit of the female's web to his enclosure and if he starts webbing it up that can be another sign. I'm speaking of widows in general, but those are good starts I think.
Above is a partial truth. The pedipalps will swell some = pre sub adult male, Second stage palps swell to round balls = sub adult male, Third stage palps stay swollen and darken and complete transition to mature male.Just keep an eye on the mal's pedipalps. When they're swollen balls, he should be good to go. You can try adding a bit of the female's web to his enclosure and if he starts webbing it up that can be another sign. I'm speaking of widows in general, but those are good starts I think.
Thanks for the clarification I've had a harder time with some of my male curacaviensis males since they either have had different coloration as they got older and matured or I had one mature a molt early.Above is a partial truth. The pedipalps will swell some = pre sub adult male, Second stage palps swell to round balls = sub adult male, Third stage palps stay swollen and darken and complete transition to mature male.
She doesn't seem to mind at ALL. Pretty cool as I thought female widows hated males from all the stuff I've heard haha. She did eat a moth wich was pretty big tho. Maybe she's just too full to bother eating him.. yet.. I'll take him out tomorrowCertainly can't hurt to take him out if you haven't seen anything. My male L. curacaviensis was able to stay with the female until he died of old age, so females will certainly tolerate having the males around (provided they are well fed I think).
Yeah i've heard that too. But in this case the male seems to be the one who's not mature quite yet.Widows are hardly male eaters, Cool fact I reado n these forums a few years ago is that sometimes they males will cohabitate with immature females to mate with them immediately after their adult molt, I find most cob web spiders are a bit more tolerant of neighbours then other spiders.
Thanks a lot Very pleased with the quality of iphone 6+ photos. (Provided you have good lighting).I love Latrodectus species. Such beautiful spiders. I wish I could keep them here, but being in the UK I would need the DWA licence :cry:
Great photos, btw.
If he did not get after it soon (let alone within 2 days), then he's most likely not mature yet. But, in the presence of a receptive female, he may molt very soon.Been living with her for 2 days. Havent seen anything. Probably not mature then. She doesnt seem to mind him being there tho! Almost would like to see if he can live there and mature in her cage.
They will cohabit with the immature female, but they will sometimes mate with her before her adult molt! Very interesting behavior- mating with an immature female. Male knows what he's doing though, that's for sure!! So cool.Widows are hardly male eaters, Cool fact I reado n these forums a few years ago is that sometimes they males will cohabitate with immature females to mate with them immediately after their adult molt, I find most cob web spiders are a bit more tolerant of neighbours then other spiders.
I work at a university and have access to this article if anyone really needs it ie for private use etc etc. Though the article is just about them doing an LD50 on mice and did some electrophoresis on the venom to look at molecular compound sizes.I found a paper on them from 2013, but everything aside from the abstract is stuck behind a pay wall: http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20133332492.html;jsessionid=7B8CE9C9B1DB8B7880A202B4320FCE0C.