How to safely relocate a jumping spider egg sac?

bison

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2017
Messages
2
I know its not usually recommended to move them but our jumper roommate is now a mom and its not safe for the babies to be out in our room. We'll be moving soon and don't want anyone to get hurt in the shuffle or from being left inside. I think this is the egg sac here behind the blinds, which makes it even harder. Its an awkward place and I worry about hurting the babies trying to get it down.



We saw the first babies yesterday, four or five of them, and three were carried outside to some bushes. We have no idea how long the egg sac has been there or when babies first emerged. We spotted mom at the end of June and decided to leave her alone and stop using the window to keep her from getting hurt so it could've been there over a month.

The babies are approximately half a centimeter long and we think they're Platycryptus undatus (tan jumping spider) based on mom. Unfortunately we don't have any good photos of mom because she was so scared of us but here's the best we have of mom and babies, if it helps or matters at all.





We don't have tanks or anything that we could use to keep any of them, unfortunately, so if its safe to move them where would be a good place to take them? Nearby we have trees (I've seen jumpers in them but also many, many ladybugs), a garden (full of snails/slugs), and a different area with pine trees (lots of birds/slugs). If necessary I could probably take them down to a local park and leave them in the lava rocks (where we've seen many jumpers).​
 

bison

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2017
Messages
2
Nevermind! I went to check on the sac since its light out now but it looks like I'm just a teeny tiny bit late, haha. We'll just have to be extra careful and keep ferrying babies out.

 

Ungoliant

Malleus Aranearum
Staff member
Joined
Mar 7, 2012
Messages
4,095
Nevermind! I went to check on the sac since its light out now but it looks like I'm just a teeny tiny bit late, haha. We'll just have to be extra careful and keep ferrying babies out.​
Some information about their preferred habitats and diet (to help you select release locations):

Spiders.us said:
Habitat

This cryptically-colored spider is common on all sorts of vertical surfaces like tree trunks, fence posts, and outer walls of buildings. They can also be found scouting for insects among herbs and shrubs. Many will overwinter under loose tree bark.

Season

Adults of this species can be found throughout the year, though they are more active and commonly seen in the warmer months.

Food

Prey is predominantly dipterans (various flies) that land near the spider, but any insect or other arthropod they can catch is fair game. This species, Platycryptus undatus, was actually the first jumping spider to have been officially recorded as having been seen eating an earthworm, a rather uncommon meal for a spider that doesn't spend much time on the ground (Ross 2008).

Lifecycle

Egg sacs are typically created in late spring or summer. The mother spider spins a relatively spacious silken chamber around herself and then deposits her eggs on the floor of it, covering them with a thin layer of silk afterward. The finished "look" is reminiscent of a fried egg, actually. She then stands guard directly over the egg mass, while still under the added protection of the larger silken sac. The spiderlings (baby spiders) will emerge within about 3-4 weeks. They overwinter as juveniles and then mature the following year. Some may overwinter a second time, living longer than one year.
 
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