Genus Dolomedes

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Arachnoemperor
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i thought the scriptus males were the ones that looked alot dif with the more whitebanding along the carapace and abdomen.heres a mature male that i believe is tenebrosus.



also heres a shot for size comparison with an adult female

 

Black Widow88

Arachnobaron
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Awesome pictures and spiders. And I wondered why the both you found died? That's really strange. I'm sorry that it happened though.

Hopefully if you try it again that you'll be successful.

Black Widow88
 

froggyman

Arachnoangel
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im so jealous ive never found a dolomedes...do they like fast or slow water?
 

ErikWestblom

Arachnobaron
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im so jealous ive never found a dolomedes...do they like fast or slow water?
Atleast d. fimbriatus likes slow/still water. They use the surface to sense vibrations from prey. Lakes and ponds is your safest bet if you want to find them. And i guess they won't be easy to find if it's raining. Then they'll probably hide. I've found mine during sunny days with almost no movement on the water.

Guess some of you guys with d. tenebrossus can tell us how to find them?
 

Black Widow88

Arachnobaron
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im so jealous ive never found a dolomedes...do they like fast or slow water?
Well the one I found was a female living in a log cavity filled with water and it was near a flowing stream kinda thing at camp. When it rained the stream like thing was also filled with water and it was running like crazy.

So I guess that the one I found might've liked fast moving water. Oh and it was gravid because a few day after I found her I saw her with an egg sac. That was a treat all together.

You'll see one someday.

Black Widow88
 

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Arachnoemperor
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well about a week after pairing those my female has already made a huge sac :D
if anyone wants any let me know ;)
 

proper_tea

Arachnobaron
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I usually find D. Tenebrosus in loose bark of either dead, or living trees. The trees can't be rotting too much. They seem to like slightly dryer (though still wet) environments. I've heard of, and seen pictures of tenebrosus on or at the edge of water, but I've never seen it. However, all of mine have been within a couple hundred yards of a stream.

I have heard about them living under logs that are partially submerged, as Black Widow 88 suggests... but I haven't seen it myself.
 

proper_tea

Arachnobaron
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syndicate...

What do you feed your MMs? They're so tiny. Mine wouldn't even take a pinhead cricket.
 

Black Widow88

Arachnobaron
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i think i fed him to my female cause he disappeared after being in there overnight lmao :X
Oh no! XD Did I say that the picture with the male and female together for comparison is kinda creepy? You know why? It's because the female looks like she's going to eat him at any moment.......

.......let's just hope that I'm wrong. But I don't think so from the looks of it. I think the male should consider running away before it's too late......XD

Any way keep me posted on these wonderful spiders and the fact that the girls rule in this case! :D

Black Widow88
 

jynxxxedangel

Arachnosquire
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What to feed?

syndicate...

What do you feed your MMs? They're so tiny. Mine wouldn't even take a pinhead cricket.
If you have any rosebushes closeby, go check them for aphids. ;)

My jumper s'lings LOVE them! Maybe your fishing spiders would..
 

proper_tea

Arachnobaron
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Just moved my tenebrosus to a semi aquatic set-up. She's a very lively swimmer, and the water is choc-full of guppies. We'll see how it goes... Here's some pics.





 

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Arachnoemperor
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whoa awesome picture!mabey i should give one of my females a lil pool hehe.i think my girls eggsack is gonna hatch any day now.loookin massive!
 

proper_tea

Arachnobaron
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Thanks... It's really amazing to see them swim

congrats on the sac... I've got some captive born wolf slings I'm raising at the moment... I've gotta get out and find another MM tenebrosus.

Cheers sir
 

Black Widow88

Arachnobaron
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I saw one catch a fish once. And then after it finished eating I got to hold her. This was last week actually. Again how I wish I had a decent camera.

Black Widow88
 

proper_tea

Arachnobaron
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proper_tea, can u post a pic of the entire semi-aquatic setup? :)
I actually just dismantled it. But here's how it went. I had a 5 gallon tank filled about 2/3 with water. I put aquarium gravel in, put in a filter, and floated a piece of cork bark. Then I dropped in about 4 dozen minnows.

unfortunately, over all I'd say this was an unsuccessful experiment. I think the cork bark was too unstable for her, and generally she felt too exposed. She moved pretty quickly to living on the screen top. Also, the minnows started to die, because the tank was overpopulated.

I've never actually found this species living at the edge of the water. They've always been in tree bark when I've seen them. I think for this kind of set-up to be successful, there would need to be less water, and an actual shore line with a gradient, rather than a floating raft. I'm not sure how to sustain the fish. They generally don't do well in shallow water. Also, I think the spider needs a hide, which is a shame because I love looking at her.

So, over all I think that I need to approach this differently.

Black Widow: The one that you saw eat a fish, where was it living and what did its hide look like. I've seen pics of them eating fish, but never actually seen it in person.

-c
 

B-fish

Arachnoknight
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WOW the eggsack is perfecticly round, perhaps she is a perfectionist
 

Carolina_wolfie

Arachnosquire
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How To Easily Find Dolomedes

Hey, guys.

Headlighting for spiders after dark is the BEST method to use in effectively catching the most spiders in one outing. Here ya go:

http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/mes/notes/entnote12.html

Their eyeshine gives them away. I've captured LOTS of wolf spiders & fishing spiders this way... and many of them were huge! :)

Here are some photos which show me holding a large Dolomedes vittatus which I captured using the headlighting method:
 

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