# Wolf spider "rescued" from mud dauber.  Your advice is welcome.



## GiantVinegaroon (Aug 27, 2009)

Well two days ago my buddy and I were looking for bugs to add to our collections and we stumbled upon a beautiful mud dauber on the ground.  As we took a closer look at the wasp, we noticed it had something in its mouth...a wolf spider!  Either way,we simply placed a net over the insect, who wasn't happy at all, and dropped the spider and flew upward in an attempt to escape (it got out alright, into my buddy's jar!  ).  I scanned the ground looking for the spider and found it.  Sure enough, it was paralyzed.  From what I read about the other sphecid wasps, the female doesn't lay her egg i the spider until it is brought back into the burrow, so I decided to take this lady into my home to see what will happen.  I've read about tarantulas recovering from wasp stings, so I'm hoping the same can go for a wolf spider!  She's fairly plump, so hopefully she can manage her own as she recovers.  Any advice?


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## Ariel (Aug 27, 2009)

I wish I had some advice for you, but i don't  good luck though, hope she pulls through. Wolf spiders are awesome, I haven't seen any this year though!


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## 8+) (Aug 27, 2009)

My advice is to let nature take its course next time...


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## GiantVinegaroon (Aug 28, 2009)

8+) said:


> My advice is to let nature take its course next time...


And lose all the wolf spiders in my backyard?  Never


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## Widowman10 (Aug 28, 2009)

ScottySalticid said:


> And lose all the wolf spiders in my backyard?  Never


all?!

well, how is the wolf doing today? still not moving or was the paralysis temporary??

if the spider is still paralyzed i think you know your answer...


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## GiantVinegaroon (Aug 28, 2009)

Widowman10 said:


> all?!
> 
> well, how is the wolf doing today? still not moving or was the paralysis temporary??
> 
> if the spider is still paralyzed i think you know your answer...


still paralyzed.  this is a small girl compared the the dauber so i wont be surprised if the effects last for weeks.  i put a drop of water near the mouth yesterday and it got sucked up, so i ave it another drop.  sucked most of that up too.

i refuse to believe she's dead until she starts to rot lol


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## loxoscelesfear (Aug 28, 2009)

Advice? Name your spider Stephen(ie) Hawking because it will likely never recover from the sting.


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## CID143ti (Aug 28, 2009)

that's awesome!


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## The Snark (Sep 1, 2009)

How about an update of the spider's condition?
I mentioned this to an expert entomologist and he thought your spiders major enemy would be micro-organisms and parasites. He was quite curious about, if the spider could be preserved and protected, if the state of paralysis could prolong the spiders life span. His suggestions were to correctly identify the spider and determine the normal life span. Keep the spider in as low a humidity environment as possible with minimal air circulation, emulating the situation in the mud dauber nest, and observe. Use magnification to monitor the condition of the exoskeleton. If the spider begins to revive it will probably begin consuming it's internal fluids and the abdominal area will take on the texture of a deflating balloon.
He feels that full recovery is probably impossible as the wasp toxin usually has permanent debilitating effects.

To clarify.
If the spider does begin to recover, the body's most rudimentary function, basal metabolism, will kick in. Most spiders, when deprived of food for prolonged periods, will begin to metabolize their own body fluids. This will be most notable in the 'deflated' appearance of the abdomen.

With exoskeletal animals the most vulnerable locations to invasive organisms are the connective tissues in the skeletal joints. This can sometimes be seen in discoloration around the joint area similar to molting but localized. Other symptons would include legs becoming loose and even breaking or sloughing away. Interestingly, the head of the spider is seldom the access point for invasive organisms. It is believed that the reason for this is a  proactive chemical, possibly bearing enzymes, secreted from the animals mouth that it coats it's head with. This is the reason why many animals don't rapidly succumb to bacterial 'food poisoning' which the spider would be particularly susceptible. (It's a very messy eater involving lots of vomiting and slobbering)


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## thomasf (Feb 28, 2011)

*Recovery?*

Did the spider ever recover??


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## Upjohn252 (Feb 28, 2011)

Yes it did recover, but unfortunately it never regained the use of its legs and had to spend the rest of its life confined to a little itsy bitsy spider wheelchair


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## spider pest (Feb 28, 2011)

8+) said:


> My advice is to let nature take its course next time...


I generally agree, but I feel that a person stepping in out of compassion is also a natural act. I would certainly stop to help out a turtle if it was flipped over on its shell. Walking around all day looking for spider hunting wasps to thwart isn't a great idea, but getting involved during a chance encounter is OK in my book. Natural too. 

Any pics of the spider?


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## Moltar (Mar 1, 2011)

I don't recall who, but somebody on this board recovered a stung Aphonopelma of some sort from a tarantula hawk and tried the same thing you are trying. I believe the person was successful eventually but it took a very long time to recover. Not sure if it ever _fully_ recovered at all. There was a long period of gradual regaining of motor faculties, i think it took months.

You may have an even harder battle ahead though, because the spider is so much smaller. Nice of you to try, I'm interested to see if the lil guy recovers. Good luck!


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## Moltar (Mar 2, 2011)

Arggghh! I hate it when I am tricked into replying to a year-old thread. Damn yooouuzzzzz!!!


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## Silberrücken (Mar 2, 2011)

Moltar said:


> I don't recall who, but somebody on this board recovered a stung Aphonopelma of some sort from a tarantula hawk and tried the same thing you are trying. I believe the person was successful eventually but it took a very long time to recover. Not sure if it ever _fully_ recovered at all. There was a long period of gradual regaining of motor faculties, i think it took months.
> 
> You may have an even harder battle ahead though, because the spider is so much smaller. Nice of you to try, I'm interested to see if the lil guy recovers. Good luck!


The T that Moltar is referring to is named "Pat's Miracle"... she successfully molted after many months' care! I believe she still lives, and is fully recovered! I remember the T's name, but not who has her...  

Hmmmm.. Search Function applies here... 

S.

---------- Post added at 02:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:10 PM ----------

Opps! LOL! You and me both, Moltar! 

S.


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## Travis K (Mar 3, 2011)

*Caution: Hearsay*

I had a Chemistry teacher in high school that said one of his college science Profs had a Tarantula that was stung by a Tarantula Hawk before being found.  Supposedly, as a result the T was so slow that he would leave it on his desk for many hours.  It was too slow to eat so it just slowly died  over the coarse of a year but the thing just couldn't move with any kind of speed, and it was essentially a Slow Motion Tarantula.  I can't really validate any of that but that is the story as I remember it.


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## huntsman (Mar 4, 2011)

Those wasps get all the huntsman in my backyard.


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## Galapoheros (Mar 4, 2011)

lol, it's still info, a little late though.  I have brought Aphonopelma back, never tried it with a smaller spider, what some people call "true" spiders.  The first one I brought back was an A. moderatum, I think, it was about 20 years ago so I don't quite remember now.  You have to turn it over and put drops of water on the mouth parts, they can still drink, the drop will look like it disappears.  Keep doing that until the drop just sits there, you know they are full then, you can see them fatten up.  Once I tried to crush roaches but that didn't work for me, it attracts phorid fly larvae since the spider can't self clean the area.  Over weeks they start moving legs.  The next molt is when there can be problems getting out since it might be weak.  I have one right now I saved, molted twice.  I wouldn't have grabbed it but I've never had one like it and I want to see what it looks like as an adult.


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## GiantVinegaroon (Mar 9, 2011)

WOW.  I should visit this site more often again!

The spider sadly never recovered.


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