A couple 'o headscratchers

zonbonzovi

Creeping beneath you
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
3,346
I was removing spiders from the walls for relocation the other day and got a phone call just before I was about to release them. When I remembered what I was doing before the phone call this is what I found:



The victims were 2 Tegenaria males, much larger than the beast with black & white abdomen. Anyone know what it is? I thought it was a Salticid when it was on the wall, but the markings are wrong and the carapace too narrow. With web removed, post meal:




Dessert(Opilliones, but what kind?):
 
Last edited:

Tarantula_Hawk

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 24, 2005
Messages
445
It's a Gnaphosidae, probably Sergiolus sp. It's not supposed to be web bound though, you sure it wasn't a Tegenaria web?
 

zonbonzovi

Creeping beneath you
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
3,346
That's it...do you happen to know if they web their prey? That seemed to be what it was doing after filling up on Tegenaria.
 

Widowman10

Arachno WIDOW
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 25, 2007
Messages
4,212
looks like a black version of the happy face spider with the patterns on the abdomen!! :clap:
 

Tarantula_Hawk

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 24, 2005
Messages
445
That's it...do you happen to know if they web their prey? That seemed to be what it was doing after filling up on Tegenaria.
I guess they do web the prey, like most "wandering" spiders do after predation.
Im pretty curious though as to how it managed to subdue such larger prey, especially considering the fact that at least one of the 2 Tegenaria is a female and is therefore tougher and especially web bound. Several gnaphosid genera, i believe, have araneophagic tendencies but being able to aggressively invade a web (if the female was indeed web bound when it was killed) would make this spider pretty interesting.
Are you sure the web where it was found wasn't in fact the web of one of the Tegenaria? I cant see the second carcass well, would be nice to get a clearer pic to determine if it's another female.
 

zonbonzovi

Creeping beneath you
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
3,346
I guess they do web the prey, like most "wandering" spiders do after predation.
Im pretty curious though as to how it managed to subdue such larger prey, especially considering the fact that at least one of the 2 Tegenaria is a female and is therefore tougher and especially web bound. Several gnaphosid genera, i believe, have araneophagic tendencies but being able to aggressively invade a web (if the female was indeed web bound when it was killed) would make this spider pretty interesting.
All three were were in a drinking glass when the phone rang, originally meant to be immediately released.

Maybe you can satisfy my curiosity: I assumed these were both males with only a cursory glance...what helps you to ID it as female?
 

Tarantula_Hawk

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 24, 2005
Messages
445
Ohhh, damn excuse me i had totally misread the first statement.:( I originally thought that you had found THAT situation, before relocating the gnaphosid and its preys in a separate jar. Well , i guess it was a long phone call then, as both the carcasses seem to have been sucked out (would take some time). My bad for misreading.

Biggest clue for them being female (at least one of them for sure) is the clear shot of the palps which lack the male embolus. Additionally, one could also observe the relative lenght of the legs. Males are definitely more "leggy".
I guess you collected these Tegenaria from webs then?
 
Last edited:

zonbonzovi

Creeping beneath you
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
3,346
Ohhh, damn excuse me i had totally misread the first statement.:( I originally thought that you had found THAT situation, before relocating the gnaphosid and its preys in a separate jar. Well , i guess it was a long phone call then, as both the carcasses seem to have been sucked out (would take some time). My bad for misreading.

Biggest clue for them being female (at least one of them for sure) is the clear shot of the palps which lack the male embolus. Additionally, one could also observe the relative lenght of the legs. Males are definitely more "leggy".
I guess you collected these Tegenaria from webs then?
No worries. The picture was taken hours later after discovering the murder scene(or was it self defense?:D), so plenty of time to empty an abdomen.

All were collected from the walls of my living room- I figured the vacuuming drew them out. In Tegenaria, are the emboli apparent before the final molt? I've only noticed them on large specimens.
 

zonbonzovi

Creeping beneath you
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
3,346
Ah, OK. Thank you. The light bulb just went on. It's funny how something you've been staring at for a very long time suddenly becomes crystal clear. Cheers!
 
Top