HUGE Steatoda Grossa

[buthus]

Replastering (and everything else) our pool has left us with a drained pool for over a year and a half now. It has been a place to find amazing widows this year though. Yesterday, I finished rewiring the pump and was ready to change the pool light. Removed the old light and exposed the light cavity ...its a half circle space about a square foot. Tons of webbing and loads of huge crickets. And in the webbing was a beautiful brown abdomen widow. Poked at it to get it to move and then I saw it had no hour glass. Got a flash light for a better look and found it was probably the largest S. grossa I have ever seen. To be honest, I am not sure if it could get out of the crack that the crickets were using to get in. It must have crawled in there when the pool was drained and started engorging on crickets which were easy pickings ...there were probably a hundred crickets day timing it within the hole. She has produced a lot of young ...slings everywhere and many hatched sacs and few live ones. The thing was living in steatoda paradise! No competition and a perfect pad.

If you keep this spider, from what I understand, it can live a good long time ...feed it tons and often ...it may just live up to its common name, "false black widow".

 

[Glen Southern]

Is it too far in to photograph at all? I'd love to get a look at it.

EDIT: Damn connection. There was a pesky photo there all the time......lol Now she is a HUGE mamma!

 

[diadematus]

If you keep this spider, from what I understand, it can live a good long time ...feed it tons and often ...it may just live up to its common name, "false black widow".

I now have a very small Theridiid in a simple container. Because it doesn't need so much space for building webs and seems less picky, it is much easier IMO to care for than an orb weaver. (They seem to do better when I let them pick out their own spot.)

While feeding it, it occurred to me that they might make good "starter spiders" for someone who might later want to keep Latrodectus, etc. The markings aren't quite as striking, but the behavior and keeping requirements seem similar. Maybe someday I'll have a decent camera and can post a pic. Right now she is so small that I can't honestly tell whether she might be a Steatoda or Achaearanea (I am not sure if a larger size will help me, but it can't hurt). I found her inside the barbecue that my wife had brought in for cleaning. After two very tiny crickets she seems to be growing quickly.

 

[Glen Southern]

hey Diadematus,

does your Theridion look like this?

I'm trying to track down an ID for this Theridion sp.

I have to agree I love keeping Therididae of any type and most adapt well to captivity IMHO. I have a batch of slings from a Mother care spider (Theridion sisyphium) from this summer, still only tiny but Mum looked after them right up until they ate her!

 

[diadematus]

does your Theridion look like this?

Maybe so. If only I could get that close to look (birthday coming up; I'm thinking seriously about the new camera idea). A couple days ago she was about the size of a larger BB pellet; today looking a little fatter. She has a very small white triangle on the underside and some kind of white marking at the rear dorsal side of the abdomen. No "shoulder" highlights that I can see (as in Buthus's spider).

I put a small live micro cricket in the container (a sort of acrylic "critter container" about 15mm x 10mm x 10mm high from the pet shop, with a ventilated top) and the little "critter" came to attention just like a dog who has seen a rabbit.

-Kevin

 

[Spider Tyrant]

How lucky you are to find those in my pool! I wish I found more interesting arachnids out here in Arizona.

 

[buthus]

How lucky you are to find those in my pool! I wish I found more interesting arachnids out here in Arizona.

You should have many of the same species as we have here in CA...if not more. One of my current hesperus lines was started with a nice looking hesp I found in Page. She is still alive and turned out really large and very rich chocolate color.

Google "spiders arizona" and start reading.