How to Care for Egg Sacs?

[JoP]

Long story short, I rescued some Nephila or Argiope sacs (not positive on which) from a gardener who was going to destroy them, and I want to make sure they hatch. Tips would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[arachnoherp]

dont do anything special except keep them elevated in a jar or container the young cant escape from also im sending you a pm, i may be interested in a few of both species, the last female i had around here was eaten and something kille her egg sac and it never hatched so my yard has been without large orbweavers for quite some time.

 

[Ungoliant]

Long story short, I rescued some Nephila or Argiope sacs (not positive on which) from a gardener who was going to destroy them, and I want to make sure they hatch. Tips would be much appreciated.

Do you have a picture of the sacs? I may be able to tell you whether they are Nephila clavipes sacs. (The strong, golden silk distinguishes them from most other sacs.)

In the wild, the mother would hide the sac, attaching it to a protected area like the underside of a large leaf, and leave it. (They usually die during the winter, so they don't provide any additional care for the egg sacs or slings.)

So you might be able to get away with just keeping each sac in a container outside in a protected area. (I would not bring them inside, or the warmth might trigger the spiderlings to emerge before winter is over.)

That being said, I tried this with one Nephila clavipes sac, and it was a dud. The mother was extremely gravid, only days away from making a sac, so I brought her inside to protect her from a short but lethal freeze so that she would have time to make the sac. She did make the sac in captivity, but the spiderlings never emerged. When I opened the sac the following spring (a couple of months after wild Nephila clavipes slings began emerging), the eggs were all desiccated.

 

[JoP]

Do you have a picture of the sacs? I may be able to tell you whether they are Nephila clavipes sacs. (The strong, golden silk distinguishes them from most other sacs.)

In the wild, the mother would hide the sac, attaching it to a protected area like the underside of a large leaf, and leave it. (They usually die during the winter, so they don't provide any additional care for the egg sacs or slings.)

So you might be able to get away with just keeping each sac in a container outside in a protected area. (I would not bring them inside, or the warmth might trigger the spiderlings to emerge before winter is over.)

That being said, I tried this with one Nephila clavipes sac, and it was a dud. The mother was extremely gravid, only days away from making a sac, so I brought her inside to protect her from a short but lethal freeze so that she would have time to make the sac. She did make the sac in captivity, but the spiderlings never emerged. When I opened the sac the following spring (a couple of months after wild Nephila clavipes slings began emerging), the eggs were all desiccated.

Good to know! I got it home where I could take a better look at it, and it definitely appears to be an Argiope aurantia sac, which makes sense because that's the species I've seen most frequently in the area where they were found. I thought about keeping them in a large deli cup (suspended from the lid) outside, but we've had quite a bit of sub-freezing weather here lately, so I worry that it might harm the eggs. Thoughts?

 

[Ungoliant]

I thought about keeping them in a large deli cup (suspended from the lid) outside, but we've had quite a bit of sub-freezing weather here lately, so I worry that it might harm the eggs. Thoughts?

If the other Argiopes survive your local winters in their egg sacs, your egg sacs should be fine. (Developing spiderlings in their egg sacs seem to be able to survive temperatures that would be too cold for the adults who are out on their own.)

But if you're worried, if you have something like a garage that is not conditioned but is still a few degrees warmer than outside, keep them in there until the freezing temperatures are done for the season.

 

[JoP]

If the other Argiopes survive your local winters in their egg sacs, your egg sacs should be fine. (Developing spiderlings in their egg sacs seem to be able to survive temperatures that would be too cold for the adults who are out on their own.)

But if you're worried, if you have something like a garage that is not conditioned but is still a few degrees warmer than outside, keep them in there until the freezing temperatures are done for the season.

Great advice, thanks. Would a fridge be too cold/unnecessary?

 

[Ungoliant]

Great advice, thanks. Would a fridge be too cold/unnecessary?

I don't see why you would want to refrigerate an egg sac. Outdoor temperatures should provide a good cue for them to emerge (in the spring).

 

[JoP]

I don't see why you would want to refrigerate an egg sac. Outdoor temperatures should provide a good cue for them to emerge (in the spring).

OK great. I've heard anecdotes of people refrigerating them to mimic the winter temps if they have a warm snap in the winter, but I'd rather not risk it in case the lengthy refrigerated temps could cause issues.

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

What I did to successfully incubate a common house spider sac was find a small bowl, filled it with water, taped a coffee filter over it. I then placed it in the center of a water tight container, cut out a hole on the lid, and taped a coffee filter over it. This allowed the eggs to be moisturized but not too moist as well as provide a lid that won't let them escape but still let's them breathe. Next I opened the sac because the mother needs to open the sac for the babies or else they die (at least for this species) i then placed the eggs on the top of the coffee filter watering dish, put them in a dark cabinate, waited 2 or three weeks and they hatched! Hope this helped

 

[JoP]

Great, thanks for the advice! I'm guessing I won't need to cut them (the mother is long dead by the time these kinds of slings ever hatch, so they emerge on their own), but I'll definitely want to give it some ambient humidity so the eggs don't dessicate.

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

Great, thanks for the advice! I'm guessing I won't need to cut them (the mother is long dead by the time these kinds of slings ever hatch, so they emerge on their own), but I'll definitely want to give it some ambient humidity so the eggs don't dessicate.

yeah i only recommend cutting the sac if its not an orb weaver

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

if they turn out to be Argiope aurantia sacs would you be willing to sell some to me. ive been looking for a Argiope aurantia sac because i want to raise some but i havent been able to find any. im willing to pay and can pay shipping as well depending on shipping price and price of the slings themselves

 

[JoP]

if they turn out to be Argiope aurantia sacs would you be willing to sell some to me. ive been looking for a Argiope aurantia sac because i want to raise some but i havent been able to find any. im willing to pay and can pay shipping as well depending on shipping price and price of the slings themselves

I might consider selling a few slings if any hatch. Only time will tell if they hatch on me, they'd been exposed to some pretty low temps outside before I found them, but I'll let you know if they do. They're definitely aurantia; when I made this post I'd just gotten them and hadn't gotten to take a good look yet but upon closer inspection I can confirm. Now it's just getting them to (hopefully) hatch!

 

[Towerchick]

@JoP - did they ever end up hatching? If so, do you attribute it to any specific thing that you did?

I found an egg sac this afternoon and have been reading up on how to successfully have them hatch while in captivity. I recently posted on the boards because I'm unsure of what they are. No mother was present that I could find.

I made a container based on this article: https://www.mypetjumpingspider.com/spiderlings/

If you have any advice, feel free to shoot it my way!