Evarcha sp. - The Terminator - Need some ID

[ThiagoMassa]

I´ve read from the NewScientist magazine (14 December 2002) about this jump spider, Evarcha sp., called The Terminator by the magazine (the title is "Blood Lust"). It´s favourite prey its the Anopheles mosquito. It lives on Africa. They seek out for bloodfeed female mosquitos, and jump "stealing" the mosquito´s food. Well, I have all the detailed info but its on paper but would take the entire mourning copying it...
The question is:
Does anybody knows what sp. is that spider?

 

[ThiagoMassa]

female

heres a female (or its a male?????) attacking an Anopheles.
Note on the proportion of the sizes...

 

[ThiagoMassa]

They are from 5mm to 8mm max long when adult.

 

[genious_gr]

Sorry, cant help but I have to say that

I'd LOVE to have a bunch of these running around my house!!!!

 

[ThiagoMassa]

me too! hehehe

I took some spiders 4 mile far from my house, under some construction woods, does anybody knows the ID?
This was the best shot I could take, becaouse of my cam(webcam)...

 

[ThiagoMassa]

another pic

 

[Wade]

Well, I don't think they're spiders. Probably harvestmen (order: Opiliones). They're less flashy relatives in the US are known as "daddy long legs". The spikey last pair of legs makes me think they may be in the family Gonylepidae, but don't quote me on that!

Wade

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Massa,

That is one beautiful jumping spider! We need more of those here! We have an unbearable amount of mosquitos here on the East Coast!! I'd be setting those loose all over my apartment and outside it as well!! lol! heck, I'd be walking around with them on me!! hehehe!!

The second pic, I'm wondering if it spins a web??

I can try to get some expert opinions if you could send me the photos please? Or if you want to post them to arachnid_world@yahoogroups.com you may be able to get some good info there (it's a mailing list)

Best wishes,

Paul

 

[ThiagoMassa]

genious_gr - I´d really love it too!!!!!

wade - thanks about the ID! What do these harvestmen eat? I found them under a pile of woods and there where lots of insects...

paul - thanks again. Now that you mentioned, i didn,t see any web... and, about the pictures, these are the only ones I have...
The ones from that Evarcha sp. I scanned from the magazine and never found on the web, and the other pics of the "harvestmen" are terribly bad quality... sorry

 

[ThiagoMassa]

R.I.P.

All the "daddy long legs" died some hours after I take them, I was supposed to put thm back to their place the other day but they didn´t survive... REALLY don´t know why!

????????????

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Originally posted by ThiagoMassa
paul - thanks again. Now that you mentioned, i didn,t see any web... and, about the pictures, these are the only ones I have...
The ones from that Evarcha sp. I scanned from the magazine and never found on the web, and the other pics of the "harvestmen" are terribly bad quality... sorry

Massa,

You're most welcome!

If there was no web and they were found under wood, and don't jump at all, then Wade is probably on the money. I've found Wade to be very knowledgeable about a wide variety of "bugs".

The pics were great! When I said second pic, I was just referring to the second picture, asking if those ones made webs. I bet you all have a huge amount of inverts out there, tarantulas, centipedes, millipedes, the whole works! That would be awesome living in Brazil!

Take care,

Paul

 

[ThiagoMassa]

Paul,
No, there is nothing mentioning that they make webs...
At least in the info i have...

hope it helps,
Massa

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Originally posted by ThiagoMassa
Paul,
No, there is nothing mentioning that they make webs...
At least in the info i have...

hope it helps,
Massa

Hi Massa,

I'm sorry to hear they died! i know what that's like. When I've caught some interesting "bugs" around here, and put them in captivity, for unknown reasons, they died shortly thereafter! so I know how that feels!

Really cool looking buggers, they are!

You have any orbweaving spiders there?

Hugs, luv and peace!

Paul

 

[Wade]

Massa-

Harvestmen are primarily predatory on small insects, but they've also been known to scavange on dead ones as well. Sometimes they will nibble at mushrooms or other fungi.

I don't think they spin silk, but if they do it's probably only in connection with certain behaviors like egg laying etc.

Ironically, soon after I saw your pics, I captured a harvestmen with a simmilar body shape to yours. Most of the ones here have round/oval bodies, and I hadn't seen this type before.

I am going to try to keep this guy alive long enough so an etomologist/photographer friend of mine can get a picture, and then I plan on releasing it. I've never tried to keep one before, but I suspect many are moisture sensitive.

Paul-

Thanks for the compliments and right back atcha! However, I have to admit that most of my knowledge comes from the pile of books that clutters up my desk. See Levi and Levi's "Spiders and their Kin" for some illustations of harvestmen that could be related to Massa's

Wade

 

[ThiagoMassa]

Paul,
Orbweaving are those ones who makes round webs? (english problems... )
If its not, could you explain it or post a pic? Thanks!
If so, I have seen many of different ones during my years here, but, so as it is now, I´ve no books or ways to ID them. Once, when I was twelve, I even had one, wild caught, but had no pictures of it. It was a red black and silver one, with some spikes on the abdomen, a beautiful one, but i think i gave it a poisoned fly, or it was the diet (only flies), i didn´t know it needed diferent preys. Well, we have a HUGE variety of spiders, most of them are little, i mean, no tarantulas (in my state), the only one we have in my area, wich is big, the "caranguejeira" (don´t know the name in english), is extremely dangerous. I wish i could have one of these...

Wade,
thanks a lot!
I wish you can keep it alive, and when you get the pics, please post it!

best wishes,
Massa

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Originally posted by ThiagoMassa
Paul,
Orbweaving are those ones who makes round webs? (english problems... )
If its not, could you explain it or post a pic? Thanks!
If so, I have seen many of different ones during my years here, but, so as it is now, I´ve no books or ways to ID them. Once, when I was twelve, I even had one, wild caught, but had no pictures of it. It was a red black and silver one, with some spikes on the abdomen, a beautiful one, but i think i gave it a poisoned fly, or it was the diet (only flies), i didn´t know it needed diferent preys. Well, we have a HUGE variety of spiders, most of them are little, i mean, no tarantulas, the only one we have in my area, wich is big, the "caranguejeira" (don´t know the name in english), is extremely dangerous. I wish i could have one of these...

Best wishes,
Massa

Hi Massa,

Yes, they are the round webs, arboreal species. Those ones with the spikes on the abdomen are really cool. The ones that are here anyway. They make HUGE webs! I've seen them stretched across six feet easily! and they are small spiders too for such a big web!

Silver?? Wow!

What other colorful animals do you have there? How about centipedes? Millipedes? You have me very curious!!

How does the word "caranguejeira" break up? can you separate it somehow into more than one word? root words? That's a mouthful! They say it is dangerous? That's unusual. Most tarantulas are not considered terribly dangerous. No one has died from a tarantula bite to my knowledge. Have you seen one? What do they look like? Very interesting!

Take care,

Paul

PS I've taken spanish in both high school and college but am very bad with it, lol!

 

[ThiagoMassa]

Yeah, those orbwealings here do those huge webs too, i´m about to collect some, a friend of mine has it in her garden, (she lives 20 miles far from the city). Those ones wich i´m saying are bright green, really beautifull ones.
About the "caranguejeiras", this is the commom name, carangueijo means crab in portuguese (oh, just to make it clear, here in Brazil we speak portuguese, we are the only country in south america wich the language is not spanish ). I think that its because the way they walk, or couse live on the underground. I really don´t know. I think those caranguejeiras are not Tarantulas, but I searched the net and found the scientific names: Grammostola sp., Acanthoscurria sp. e Lasiodora sp.. (Are these ones tarantulas?) Those are the most important ones. I´ve only seen it preserved in alchool and once in a video. I got some info about them but it´s in portuguese, ill try to tranlate it.
"There is more than 30.000 kind of spiders, divided in the Araneomorphae and Mygalomorphae. All the Mygalomorphae, wich represent 15.000 familys and 2.200 species, are called "caranguejeiras" and are totaly distinguished of the Araneomorphae because of the parallel quelicerae and body, what makes them to rise the frontside of their bodies to attack. Only one of the familys, the Theraphosidea is adopted on the hobby, because it has big spiders wich resist more to captivity and hide less in the tank. Is divided in terrestrial and arboreal spiders, accordig on the life way. Thery solitary and live in underground galleries"
The most curious detail wich I remember about that spider I mentioned (red - abdomen, black - "feet" and silver- torax) is that the silver part had a skull draw, very interesting.
On the centipedes and Millipedes, i´ve never seen a dangerous one, in Brazil we don´t have any petstore wich sells "bugs". Well, at least where I live. If there is any of these pet stores dealing this pets, be sure they´re not from here. So theyre not very popular, I mean, if you want one, go hunt it, and let nobody know! Difficult.

Cheers,
Massa

 

[ThiagoMassa]

well, i´ve seen some pictures of the caranguejeiras and found them pretty similar to tarantulas.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 

[ThiagoMassa]

Lasiodora klugii

This one is from Brazil,
They´re saying it reaches 8 inches. Main colour is black with long red hairs in the torax and abdomen. Easy adaptation in captivity. When stimulated, presents a very agressive comportament, staying in defense position with the front legs up in intimidation act. It´s called black caranguejeira.
http://www.aracnofilia.hpg.ig.com.br/negra.htm

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Originally posted by ThiagoMassa
Yeah, those orbwealings here do those huge webs too, i´m about to collect some, a friend of mine has it in her garden, (she lives 20 miles far from the city). Those ones wich i´m saying are bright green, rally beautifull ones.
About the "caranguejeiras", this is the commom name, carangueijo means crab in portuguese (oh, just to make it clear, here in Brazil we speak portuguese, we are the only country in south america wich the language is not spanish ). I think that its because the way they walk, or couse live on the underground. I really don´t know. I think those caranguejeiras are not Tarantulas, but I searched the net and found the scientific names: Grammostola sp., Acanthoscurria sp. e Lasiodora sp.. (Are these ones tarantulas?) Those are the most important ones. I´ve only seen it preserved in alchool and once in a video. I got some info about them but it´s in portuguese, ill try to tranlate it.
"There is more than 30.000 kind of spiders, divided in the Araneomorphae and Mygalomorphae. All the Mygalomorphae, wich represent 15.000 familys and 2.200 species, are called "caranguejeiras" and are totaly distinguished of the Araneomorphae because of the parallel quelicerae and body, what makes them to rise the frontside of their bodies to attack. Only one of the familys, the Theraphosidea is adopted on the hobby, because it has big spiders wich resist more to captivity and hide less in the tank. Is divided in terrestrial and arboreal spiders, accordig on the life way. Thery solitary and live in underground galleries"
The most curious detail wich I remember about that spider I mentioned (red - abdomen, black - "feet" and silver- torax) is that the silver part had a skull draw, very interesting.
On the centipedes and Millipedes, i´ve never seen a dangerous one, in Brazil we don´t have any petstore wich sells "bugs". Well, at least where I live. If there is any of these pet stores dealing this pets, be sure they´re not from here. So theyre not very popular, I mean, if you want one, go hunt it, and let nobody know! Difficult.

Cheers,
Massa

OKay, Caranguejeiras means Theraphosid? I thought crab was "o caranguejo", lol! Yes, Grammostola, Lasiodora and Acanthoscurria are "as tarantulas" species, theraphosids.

Sounds on the "a aranha que gira teia de circlular fora do chão", sounds very beautiful! "Um projeto interessante de crânio!"

Must be difficult there to share these great animals with others.

I have heard two things, 1) that Brazil is open for trade, 2) that Brazil is not open for trade. Do you know which is true?

Desejar você o melhor!

Paul