Argiope aurantia egg incubation?

[GartenSpinnen]

I am taking on two egg sacs of A. aurantia over the winter for something extra to do... unbeknown-est by my fiance *wink* *wink*. Anyway.... how do I go about incubating these egg sacs? Should I do so like a tarantula egg sac, or is it best done some other way? They have been cooled outside for some time, but I have brought them indoors, so I am guessing they may hatch here... pretty soon. Any information is appreciated!

 

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

I suspect they will hatch sooner since you brought them indoors. Perhaps, place one outside, exposed to the natural factors of overwintering and leave the other indoors. This way, not all your eggs are in one basket.

 

[GartenSpinnen]

I went ahead and placed both sacs temporarily into the fridge until I can pursue my little plan lol. What is my plan? I want to build a custom cylinder like enclosure that goes from the ceiling to the floor in height, then let them all web it up and have a massive Argiope enclosure that will be large enough to allow them to web until spring comes. Ideally if I can get a couple hundred survivors by march I will be happy .

My fiance is going to LOVE me lol

 

[zonbonzovi]

I suspect they will hatch sooner since you brought them indoors. Perhaps, place one outside, exposed to the natural factors of overwintering and leave the other indoors. This way, not all your eggs are in one basket.

Rimshot...crash! Next up...Henny Youngman!

I must see this enclosure. No backing out now, Jade

 

[sooz49]

so WHEN do the little guys come out of the sac?

Last November, I rescued (I hope, anyway) 7 Argiope aurantia eggsacs from a country porch (south Texas) just before the exterminator came. I hung them on a wooden ruler from what anchor threads I could salvage from their original sites and kept them outdoors until the first freeze, when I brought them into the garage. Got pretty cold in there, but no freeze. So now it's March and I'm wondering when to expect the little spiders to come out. I'm hoping they survived the move. And HOW do they get out? I was told that when they do emerge, they'll hang around for a bit, then catch the wind and disperse. -- Would very much appreciate information. Love spiders (OK, not ON me), but new at this.

 

[What]

So now it's March and I'm wondering when to expect the little spiders to come out. I'm hoping they survived the move. And HOW do they get out? I was told that when they do emerge, they'll hang around for a bit, then catch the wind and disperse.

I have an Argiope sac or two of my own sitting around my house somewhere, I should probably find them...

As I understand it, the spiderlings generally hatch in late fall and slowly develop while being "dormant" inside the sac. They will probably emerge whenever the temperatures are consistently reasonable in your area and I am as curious to see how these will emerge as you. I am expecting either a hole in the side or for them to come pouring out the top constriction.

After they emerge they will disperse by parachuting, which is letting the wind carry them on a specially spun web.

 

[sooz49]

I checked other/older posts, and it seems the little spiderlets will come out and nibble on each other at first, before they sail away. Seems sad, to spend all that time together, and then... But maybe that is WHY they eat each other. Anyway, I've moved them outside to the patio out of the wind and rain, now that temps are stabilizing. I read one post from Mississippi who said that his spiderlets emerged in May, so maybe April in Texas.