# Red Spotted Ant Mimic



## Arianji (Aug 20, 2012)

I just caught a red spotted ant mimic spider today, and I am curious if anyone has kept these before. She appears to be female, but other than that I know nothing about this species care. I am also curious to their range, I live in Mississippi and have never seen one of these spiders before. Any advice would be helpful, she is a very pretty spider and I would like to provide her with proper care.


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## Ciphor (Aug 20, 2012)

Arianji said:


> I just caught a red spotted ant mimic spider today, and I am curious if anyone has kept these before. She appears to be female, but other than that I know nothing about this species care. I am also curious to their range, I live in Mississippi and have never seen one of these spiders before. Any advice would be helpful, she is a very pretty spider and I would like to provide her with proper care.


Got any pictures?


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## ecooper (Aug 20, 2012)

Ciphor said:


> Got any pictures?


+1

I'd love to see it! I'm sure I'll be envious...

EC
www.macrocritters.wordpress.com


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## Arianji (Aug 21, 2012)

Here she is, she is on my thumb for size comparison

Reactions: Like 1


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## Ciphor (Aug 21, 2012)

Nice, probably _C. descripta_ but _C. crocata_ is an option too.

It's a ground spider so it will eat most things that are of an appropriate size. semi-moist is probably best but I bet it would do fine in dry room temperature.

It is native btw, so you definitely do not need any extra heat.


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## Anansis (Aug 21, 2012)

Not sure why that is called an ant mimic. How about this for an ant mimicking spider;

The ant.







The spider>

Reactions: Like 1


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## Ciphor (Aug 21, 2012)

They are believed to be a mimic of velvet ants. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutillidae

Not all mimicry is fully evolved, or needs to be overly accurate. Sometimes, we are witnessing the evolution right in the middle, like in the case of polar bears.

Chances are, these spiders did not need to evolve much more mimicry then this, while the species you have shown may have needed to evolve that far to be successful in its niche.


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## Arianji (Aug 21, 2012)

I put her in a glass "cracker jar" with a metal lid. The bottom is bigger than the top so like 6 square inches to crawl around the bottom and another 5 up top. I put in an itty bitty terra cotta pot for a hide; 3 inches of cocofiber substrate, and magnolia leaves to climb. I misted a corner and filled a cupped magnolia leaf with water too. She seems to be taking to it quickly, haven't fed her yet though. How long do they generally live? And though shes not nearly as impressive an ant mimic as the spider above, I still think she is a pretty spider.


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## Ciphor (Aug 21, 2012)

Arianji said:


> I put her in a glass "cracker jar" with a metal lid. The bottom is bigger than the top so like 6 square inches to crawl around the bottom and another 5 up top. I put in an itty bitty terra cotta pot for a hide; 3 inches of cocofiber substrate, and magnolia leaves to climb. I misted a corner and filled a cupped magnolia leaf with water too. She seems to be taking to it quickly, haven't fed her yet though. How long do they generally live? And though shes not nearly as impressive an ant mimic as the spider above, I still think she is a pretty spider.


Lifespan on a female is 2 years, but being that this is an adult, and wild caught, it could die in a few weeks, or in a year. Home sounds fine. If you want to keep her alive as long as possible, follow these rules.

_Never_ over-feed. Give her strictly 1 meal that is 1/4 the size of the spider every 2 weeks.
Lots of water. Give her a mist once or twice a week, without humidifying her enclosure (spray down the side)
Do not freak her out. If she feels threatened she will panic run, and burn through tons of energy. For a person who lives 70+ years, no biggy, but for a spider who lives 2 years max, 1 year on average, panicking the spider is impactful.

Just my experience at least.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Arianji (Aug 22, 2012)

I will be sure to do that, I always trust your advice Ciphor. The widow you helped me with is alive, strong, fat, and healthy, and I credit you for that.


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## RobynTRR (Aug 23, 2012)

Those mimics are incredible, that is awesome!


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