Two odd spiders... ID help?

[Kayota]

Spider 1:

Spider 2:

They seem to have similar bodies but their webs are totally different... the white one's consists of only a strand while the black one has a full-blown web. I thought the black one's markings didn't fit what I thought it was (Micrathena gracilis - Spiny-bellied Orbweaver) and the white one's markings definitely don't fit that species... so does anyone else have any ideas?

ETA: Sorry about page stretch. And I live in southern IL if that helps any.

ETA (again): Well apparently I didn't do enough research because after more research I discovered both spiders fit the species pretty well and that there "is a great variation in the color pattern"

 

[Spider787]

I have heard them called christmas spiders before. Cannot rememder family but it you google chistmas spider you should find something.

 

[Widowman10]

they both look like micrathena sp. to me. micrathena are small as well, which fits.

oh, and you probably figured this out also, but the white one was probably preparing to build her orb.

good looking spiders. have searched around for them before but ended up empty-handed.

 

[8+)]

Yeah, I agree: I think Micrathena gracilis.

 

[Venom]

Yes, they are both Micrathena gracilis.

 

[Kayota]

they both look like micrathena sp. to me. micrathena are small as well, which fits.

oh, and you probably figured this out also, but the white one was probably preparing to build her orb.

good looking spiders. have searched around for them before but ended up empty-handed.

Yeah they are pretty cool. I feel kind of lucky. I actually discovered the strand is an escape line for the spiders when they're in danger, which is also very cool.

 

[Tapahtyn]

those are awesome!! I have never seen one in person. We have a lot of orb weavers right now

 

[Kayota]

^This is the first time I've seen spiders like these. Anybody have an objection to the possibility of my capturing one and setting up a terrarium? IDK what the opinion on wild-caught specimens is in the arachnid hobby... and I also don't know what my mother would think! Haha. The white one was pretty cool with my presence though... even as I got totally excited and yelled "MOM MOM COME LOOK" lol

 

[flamesbane]

^This is the first time I've seen spiders like these. Anybody have an objection to the possibility of my capturing one and setting up a terrarium? IDK what the opinion on wild-caught specimens is in the arachnid hobby... and I also don't know what my mother would think! Haha. The white one was pretty cool with my presence though... even as I got totally excited and yelled "MOM MOM COME LOOK" lol

These guys are pretty difficult to keep (at least I had trouble with them), on the plus side those are both females.

 

[Kayota]

Does anyone else have more info on keeping them?It wouldn't be long... I'd probably release them after a week or two.

 

[flamesbane]

I kept about a dozen, I kept some it largish containers 12x8x10 inches with screen fronts. The others I kept in large vials (not sure how big about 4" tall 1.5" in dia). The ones in the vials did the best, I just used 100% peat as the substrate and a few sticks/fake plants for them to web on. I misted every so often and defiantly saw them drinking from the droplets. I kept them normal house temps (70s) and fed them small flying insects. Again, they were rather hard to keep some of them died within days of me catching them and I never could determine why. 2 lived for quiet some time, you will need a supply of small insects that can either fly, or that you can place in their webs. Only some of mine actually were interested in making a real web, the other just threw down a drag line or two. No real clue why...

 

[Kayota]

The drag line thing seems to be what the white one is doing, because I observed her for the three days I was at my mom's and she never did have a complete web. So... weird. I would probably keep them in a jar if I did catch them. Luckily I have peat due to my carnivorous plant hobby so maybe I'll try this with one of them.

 

[flamesbane]

The drag line thing seems to be what the white one is doing, because I observed her for the three days I was at my mom's and she never did have a complete web. So... weird. I would probably keep them in a jar if I did catch them. Luckily I have peat due to my carnivorous plant hobby so maybe I'll try this with one of them.

They don't usually have a big traditional web, it is normally pretty slim just a few main lines with a small cluster in the center. The ones I had that did the drag line thing only had 1-3 lines across the sides of their enclosure. Gracilis tend to go "up" in their enclosures so a jar with a lid might make it annoying to feed. Those that I kept in the vials would web right at the top, and if it hadn't been for the soft lids (I could just lift a "corner") I would've had a time trying to feed them.

 

[Kayota]

Maybe I can do what someone owning a Widow suggested... turn the jar on end so the lid is at the bottom and flip it for feeding.

 

[flamesbane]

Maybe I can do what someone owning a Widow suggested... turn the jar on end so the lid is at the bottom and flip it for feeding.

You don't want to flip these guys, they are very clumsy and will fall out of their web or get caught in it. If you are feeding flying insects you can use the jar upside-down and just put the feeder in from the bottom. An acrylic cube from Micheal's, the one with the "top" that is 1/3 the cube would work perfectly, just use the top as the bottom of the enclosure. They also need a good bit of ventilation. If you run a search in the Tarantula discussions Robc has some video showing how to make those cubes into an enclosure.

 

[Kayota]

Cool, thank you for the info.