Catching a tube web spider, S. florentina

[executivebexley]

I would love to catch a wild tube web spider, S.florentina are our local ones, the ones with the metallic green chelicerae. I'd love to setup a sweet enclosure with a clear sides tube so I could see it's web. But I cannot get one to come outta it's tube web far enough to catch one.

Any ideas how I might catch one?
Is there a way to flush one out of its tube other than trying to tease it out with prey or a twig
They rarely come right out and if they do theyre so fast

I know this sounds cruel, but is there a way to flush one right out, such as spraying water down its tube, or smoke or something like that, I'd imagine such things would make it retreat further.

I have a lace web A.similis I've had from a tiny sling who's thriving so I don't think I'll have problems caring for a tube webber it's just catching the bugger!

Thanks

 

[basin79]

Smoke will kill it so please don't try that. Water will make her go back further and maybe even freeze at night far into her tube killing her.

You best bet would be a lure and then carefully cup the spider and then slide a piece of card under making sure to not trap any legs. Or use a mealworm to lure her out.

If you've got one outside your house you're already very lucky so maybe just count your blessings and enjoy feeding her.

 

[executivebexley]

Smoke will kill it so please don't try that.

You best bet would be a lure and then carefully cup the spider and then slide a piece of card under making sure to not trap any legs. Or use a mealworm to lure her out.

If you've got one outside your house you're already very lucky so maybe just count your blessings and enjoy feeding her.

I'm in the South East UK so They're very common in my neck of the woods! In any bit of old brick wall you'll find loads of little telltale circles of web with trip wires

 

[executivebexley]

You're right though, I'll carry on persevering with teasing one out, if I'm successful, I'll post a pic, if you like, in the morning I'll take a pic of the wall outside my block so you can see how many we have.

The lace weavers sometimes web over the entrance of their tube webs to catch them too

 

[basin79]

I'm in the South East UK so They're very common in my neck of the woods! In any bit of old brick wall you'll find loads of little telltale circles of web with trip wires

You lucky sod.

 

[HeartBum]

We have WHAT? Not a fan of trues, what with this and lockdown, I don't know how much more I can handle tonight lmao

 

[executivebexley]

We have WHAT? Not a fan of trues, what with this and lockdown, I don't know how much more I can handle tonight lmao

And Xmas was cancelled officially today too.... Yay......

 

[Ian14]

I have what I think is S florentina. I know we have them as I caught a male last year hanging out on my front wall. The one I have now was found as I was clearing the remnants of an old shed. Matches the colour and markings, but it was also very small. Oddly it has not made a tube web but sheets of webbing. Its feeding and growing well though, happily takes crickets as big, and slightly bigger, than itself.

 

[executivebexley]

I have what I think is S florentina. I know we have them as I caught a male last year hanging out on my front wall. The one I have now was found as I was clearing the remnants of an old shed. Matches the colour and markings, but it was also very small. Oddly it has not made a tube web but sheets of webbing. Its feeding and growing well though, happily takes crickets as big, and slightly bigger, than itself.

Does it have metallic green chelicerae? Some of our lace weavers will web the entrance of the tube web spider, catch and eat it, then steal its tube! You can tell because they don't lay straight fishing lines, more of a mess. I'm sure they do it on purpose too because the web over the tube entrance seems very small and intentionally placed

The ones in my wall take the biggest crickets that even my smaller Ts won't take, and it's a quarter their size, the crickets are often much bigger than the spider

 

[Ian14]

Does it have metallic green chelicerae? Some of our lace weavers will web the entrance of the tube web spider, catch and eat it, then steal its tube! You can tell because they don't lay straight fishing lines, more of a mess. I'm sure they do it on purpose too because the web over the tube entrance seems very small and intentionally placed

The ones in my wall take the biggest crickets that even my smaller Ts won't take, and it's a quarter their size, the crickets are often much bigger than the spider

When I caught it it was too small to see them properly. The one I caught before was S florentina, this one i thought was but as I said, its webbing is very different.

 

[executivebexley]

Awesome! How did you catch yours?? Or was just in the open

I wonder what one would do if you gave it nowhere to hide/make a tube, say in an enclosure with little substrate and no bark or ornaments or anything.

I wonder why yours is making sheets of web

I love true spiders, they're alot more interesting than Ts, what trues have you got??

 

[Ian14]

Awesome! How did you catch yours?? Or was just in the open

I wonder what one would do if you gave it nowhere to hide/make a tube, say in an enclosure with little substrate and no bark or ornaments or anything.

I wonder why yours is making sheets of web

I love true spiders, they're alot more interesting than Ts, what trues have you got??

The one last year was sat on my front wall. I had never seen these before so caught it to see what it was. Just used a glass and sliding paper underneath.
The one I now have was under a piece of wood I was clearing after pulling my old shed apart. Its abdomen is black with very dark grey markings so I'm as sure as I can be that it's florentina.
I dont have any other true spiders, I have 25 tarantulas, 2 giant centipedes and an Israeli gold scorpion.
There is a park where I live where wasp spiders have been found, I've tried looking but no joy so far.

 

[executivebexley]

The one last year was sat on my front wall. I had never seen these before so caught it to see what it was. Just used a glass and sliding paper underneath.
The one I now have was under a piece of wood I was clearing after pulling my old shed apart. Its abdomen is black with very dark grey markings so I'm as sure as I can be that it's florentina.
I dont have any other true spiders, I have 25 tarantulas, 2 giant centipedes and an Israeli gold scorpion.
There is a park where I live where wasp spiders have been found, I've tried looking but no joy so far.

Yeah that sounds like a florentina! I'm jealous. I'm a total newbie really I've only got 3 tarantulas just begginer ones, T.albo, L.para and A.geniculata, also one P.regius jumper.
wild caught I've got 2 woolly jumping spiders p.lanigara, a lace web a.similis, a mouse S.blackwalli and European giant house spider

Wasp spiders are beautiful, I don't know if we get those in my bit of the UK, their not common anyways! But I've seen them in books. Awesome good luck catching one

 

[HeartBum]

I had to return to this thread - @executivebexley.

Yesterday I found a spider desperately attempting to climb up the stairs whilst I was hoovering. After putting my big girl panties on, and cupping it, I noticed it was struggling possibly because it looked as though its back legs were deformed. So, I decided I'd nurse it back to health (let it moult and get some food in it as it's bloody cold out there).

Popped it in a tupperware I was previously using for a grown-on sling I just rehoused, and what do you know? I check on it later on as I'm seriously confused about what it is as I've never seen a spider like it in my life (genuinely had to make sure my pokie hadn't got out due to the pattern on its back ) and the little bugger has green chelicerae!!

Have you had any luck yet? Maybe one might just come right to you as well!

 

[basin79]

I had to return to this thread - @executivebexley.

Yesterday I found a spider desperately attempting to climb up the stairs whilst I was hoovering. After putting my big girl panties on, and cupping it, I noticed it was struggling possibly because it looked as though its back legs were deformed. So, I decided I'd nurse it back to health (let it moult and get some food in it as it's bloody cold out there).

Popped it in a tupperware I was previously using for a grown-on sling I just rehoused, and what do you know? I check on it later on as I'm seriously confused about what it is as I've never seen a spider like it in my life (genuinely had to make sure my pokie hadn't got out due to the pattern on its back ) and the little bugger has green chelicerae!!

Have you had any luck yet? Maybe one might just come right to you as well!

Being that the spider was out of the web is it a MM?

 

[HeartBum]

Being that the spider was out of the web is it a MM?

Is what I'm wondering, it's not entirely black yet so I'm assuming not, if what I've been reading about them is true anyway. It's been torrential here lately so I'm wondering if it came in for some harbourage.. That or, the bathroom window was open the other day, wondering if it had a den out there.

 

[basin79]

Is what I'm wondering, it's not entirely black yet so I'm assuming not, if what I've been reading about them is true anyway. It's been torrential here lately so I'm wondering if it came in for some harbourage.. That or, the bathroom window was open the other day, wondering if it had a den out there.

Any pics?

 

[HeartBum]

Here ya go!
Are you still like-banned by the way?

 

[basin79]

View attachment 372240

Here ya go!
Are you still like-banned by the way?

Not officially now no. But I'm still going to not like for a few days due to others who've had the same, gone back to liking and then being banned for a month.

 

[executivebexley]

Sorry I only just saw new replies on this! Amazing you've had one find you it's hard to tell by the photo, but that looks like what I'm after, a tube web spider. Strange how it was indoors on your stairs, there are so many species of spider it's hard to tell!! How people remember all the scientific names for them I don't know!!

I've given up for this year, I'm gonna wait till there's more of them about as most have died back over winter, the ones that live in the wall that are still alive and active I'm feedin in situe. They're amazing they'll take the biggest crickets twice the size of the spider no problem! Hehe

My lace weaver has molted twice it now in my care, there's a monster adult one that lives in my garden, can't wait till my one is that big.

I'll try and get some feeding clips of the outdoor spiders soon and I'll post then up here!