Really? That's your initial reaction?

[paassatt]

I'm the resident "spider guy" at my work. They all know about my 20+ tarantulas I have, and I'm always happy to debunk the myriad of myths many of them believe about our eight-legged buddies. Whenever they find one in the warehouse they always call me over to identify it for them, and it's usually always a Lycosid of some sort, and sometimes there will be a Latrodectus thrown in the mix for good measure. Today though, they alerted me to the presence of a beautiful Kukulcania hibernalis and I couldn't hide my excitement when I saw what it was. I've been looking for one for a long time, and just never had the luck of coming across one, even though they're pretty prevalent in my area. Anyway, as to the title of this thread. The guy who found it told me that he sprayed it with some kind of cleaner we had in the break room. I immediately shot him a mean look and tried my best to make him feel bad for what he'd done. They know I don't take too kindly to the unprovoked killing of spiders or insects, and I always tell them to come and get me so I can move them outside instead of letting them meet the bottom of their shoes. Luckily, the contents of the bottle that he showed me had been watered down so much (too cheap to buy a new bottle when it ran out I guess) that I couldn't even smell any chemical odors in it; just water. So hopefully the spider is going to pull through even though it got an unexpected and unwarranted bath. This happened about 8 hours ago, and the spider is doing just fine. I'm home now and have it in a better container than what I used as a catch cup at work, and everything seems to be going well. No fidgeting, no weird leg movements that you'd usually see from exposure to chemicals, no problems moving around or navigating obstacles...I'm holding out hope for it. I've got it separated from the tarantulas in a different room just to be safe though. Here's a picture of the (hopefully) girl.

 

[MarkmD]

Pretty cool, glad it's settling in well.

 

[flamingpie]

Awesome find! I've been wanting one of these since I first heard about them. Really hoping that she pulls through!

And I agree that it is almost definitely a she, at least by comparison to the photos I've seen.

 

[paassatt]

Awesome find! I've been wanting one of these since I first heard about them.

As soon as I saw it I was like "oh man, that's Kukulcania hibernalis!" I couldn't hide my excitment. Which part of the US are you in? Are you in their range, or just keeping an eye on the classifieds for one?

 

[Silberrücken]

paassatt, that is indeed a beautiful female. Thank you for taking her in. These gorgeous spiders are my favorite True spider. I currently have 2 females sitting on sacs.

Good on you to try to educate people on spiders!

 

[Biollantefan54]

Wow! That is an awesome spider! I want one now, are they in my range? I live in the piedmont area of North Carolina. How do you find them? I might be going back to Georgia during Christmas break and might look for some there if we don't have them here. Where do you usually find them at, they look sweet!

 

[paassatt]

Wow! That is an awesome spider! I want one now, are they in my range? I live in the piedmont area of North Carolina. How do you find them? I might be going back to Georgia during Christmas break and might look for some there if we don't have them here. Where do you usually find them at, they look sweet!

Yeah, they're in both NC and Georgia. They're very good at hiding, that's why it's taken me so long to come across one. I'm sure there are people on the boards who are more adept at searching for them than I am that'll chime in on how and where to look. This was just an instance of dumb luck in my particular case.

 

[JadeWilliamson]

I run into them all the time doing yardwork. They're in logs whenever I flip one over. They intimidated me in the past but now that I'm an arachnoholic I appreciate them much more. Never thought of keeping one. How do you have it housed?

 

[paassatt]

I run into them all the time doing yardwork. They're in logs whenever I flip one over. They intimidated me in the past but now that I'm an arachnoholic I appreciate them much more. Never thought of keeping one. How do you have it housed?

I have it in a tupperware container about 6 inches tall and 4 inches wide. No substrate, just some pieces of egg crate for it to hide in/attach webbing to. I think it's neat that they're cribellate spiders instead of having spinnerets. Makes for some neat-looking webbing. How it traps prey even though it's not sticky is pretty cool.

 

[Smokehound714]

I've actually been known to slap a person's hand away from a spider just before they try to swat 'em.

The only Kuks i find here in the OC are geophila, which doesnt get anywhere near as large as hibernalis or the even larger arizonensis..

 

[JadeWilliamson]

I did not know what that was, but thank you for telling me.

I have it in a tupperware container about 6 inches tall and 4 inches wide. No substrate, just some pieces of egg crate for it to hide in/attach webbing to. I think it's neat that they're cribellate spiders instead of having spinnerets. Makes for some neat-looking webbing. How it traps prey even though it's not sticky is pretty cool.

 

[Biollantefan54]

I will start looking for some of those soon lol.
I yanked a girls hand back before. It was last year at school, there was a cellar spider in the corner of the room. EVERYBODY freaked out and made a circle around it. This prissy girl took her shoe and went to slap it, I made my way through about 4 kids, grabbed her hand and yanked it away. I then preceded to grab the spider, and ask the teacher if I could let it go outside

 

[Silberrücken]

they're cribellate spiders instead of having spinnerets.

Actually, they DO have spinnerettes. They are short and stubby, and to make the spiral webbing, they "knit" it with one back leg that is folded and stabilized by grasping the other back leg.

These spiders are nocturnal, but you can still find them in daylight hours. I always find mine along eges of eaves, cracks in brickwork (they LOVE this), etc. They are all over my house. Look for messy spiderwebs radiating outward from holes, cracks, etc., and you should find them inside their "black hole" somewhere in that webbing.

Getting them out, however... that's a different story.

 

[Biollantefan54]

I cant wait to start looking for them! I have a web outside my porch that looks similar to a grass spider web but it is laying on something, not in the air. It is literally on a piece of column *ON* it not above it, and out has a little funnel thing but not like a grass spider, it is also a weird colored spider, I need to check it out ahah.

 

[Silberrücken]

The males are a light tan color and are often killed because they resemble (to the untrained eye) Loxosceles reclusa, the Brown recluse. One way to tell the males apart from the recluse: look at the spider's palps. On a Kukulcania male, the palps are so long that they are folded under, and most males carry their palps high.

Slings and juvies are also light-colored in most cases, and female slings get darker as they get older. I have been surprised once or twice by a darker specimen molting out male, tho.

Good luck in your huntings, everyone! You will love these spiders!

BTW.... they are also communal, and moms feed their slings.

 

[paassatt]

Actually, they DO have spinnerettes. They are short and stubby, and to make the spiral webbing, they "knit" it with one back leg that is folded and stabilized by grasping the other back leg.

I was always under the impression that the cribellum and spinneretes were different organs. As in the cribellum produces webbing, but isn't a spinneret, which also produces webbing. Hence why they have different nomenclatures.

 

[pitbulllady]

These are easy to find, provided you're in their range and the weather is fairly warm. Now that cooler weather is setting in, though, they're going to be going into hibernation and you won't see them. The best place to find them is in and on old barns and sheds, so if you find one of those, and have permission to search it, just look for the characteristic webs around every nook and crevice. These are nocturnal spiders, so if you plan to catch one or just observe them(they live in colonies), wait until way after dark and go out with a flashlight. Flashlights don't seem to bother them, but noises will cause them to retreat into their holes, so you need to be really quiet. To catch one, find one that has moved a few inches from the hole entrance and just put a cup over her, then slide an index card or other rather stiff piece of paper underneath so you can turn the cup back into the upright position for the lid. These spiders cannot climb smooth surfaces. Most of the time, if a large female is found out wandering out, not near a "den", either someone has destroyed the den or she's been usurped and driven out by an even larger female, since they do have battles from time to time over prime real estate and the loser has to go off in search of another site to construct a web.

pitbulllady

 

[Silberrücken]

I was always under the impression that the cribellum and spinneretes were different organs. As in the cribellum produces webbing, but isn't a spinneret, which also produces webbing. Hence why they have different nomenclatures.

I'll set up a Youtube channel with a few vids to show you.

 

[paassatt]

I'll set up a Youtube channel with a few vids to show you.

Cool, I'm up for watching videos. I think where I'm respectfully disagreeing with you is saying that the cribellum is made up of tiny spinnerets. Both the cribellum and spinnerets are silk-spinning organs, but to say they are the same is like saying cherries are the same as oranges. They're both fruits, sure, but they're not the same fruit. If I'm wrong, that's okay too, it's just that from what I've read, they're two entirely different organs.

 

[Biollantefan54]

I would have to say I agree with paaassatt about the spinneret/cribellum discussion. (Good analogy too!)

I went looking (Quick, not in depth) hunt for these spiders, I just done a quick check in an old storage building. I just shined a flashlight around and looked for their webs and didn't find any. Then again, I only checked for about 20 seconds before a bee scared me off. Anyone have any pics of these in their webs, not in a terrarium but like out in the wild but it can be on human things like a shack. Also, is anyone sure if I am in there area? I am in the Catawba river basin and I can give the county if needed.