Latrodectus Black Widow Identification

[Itsmom0527]

He needs some sticks lol, the enclosure is perfect height but he’s going to need anchor points for his web!

 

[darkness975]

I rehomed him to a clean enclosure. Heres some better pics I hope! I have a video too. I'll see if I can upload it.

Great looking specimen, however a mature male is unlikely to eat and will spend the remainder of his short life seeking a female. Enjoy while you can. I have had plenty of males over the years too. I just wish they lived longer.

 

[The Snark]

Most of my captive raised males will molt out to maturity looking well fed. But it doesn't take long for them to start shrinking. Because I rarely breed them in captivity and because they usually tend to refuse food once they really get going their clocks start ticking.

So with Latrodectus the hammer comes down with the penultimate molt and their entire biology shifts to one specific function?

 

[darkness975]

So with Latrodectus the hammer comes down with the penultimate molt and their entire biology shifts to one specific function?

Not so unlike a mature male Tarantula. When they first molt out they usually will still eat but after a couple of weeks their ganglia notably shift functions and they become restless. They will always drink but feeding is a hit or miss (usually miss). In the wild they take up residence in a female's web and will scrape up whatever remnants of her kills he can until he loses to the sands of time and withers away.

I realize it is biology and evolution but I do wish the males would live longer. They look really cool in their own right but due to their short life span, especially once they reach their ultimate mature molt, they get an unfair shake in my opinion. Of course I am anthropomorphizing but I stand by it.

 

[The Snark]

I realize it is biology and evolution but I do wish the males would live longer.

Time for me to revisit Darwin and that strata to try and get some insight there.

 

[RMELovesLife]

Here he is today! He molted again! I added the cork and I offer a pinhead cricket occasionally. He doesnt seem to take it, but its understandable based off what I've learned. Thanks again for all the information!

 

[The Snark]

@darkness975 Something just occurred to me seeing these new post molt pictures. Does the immature male make a web much like the female complete with the sticky lines, or are there noticeable differences? This being, do they share the same traits then the mature male shifts to mating mode or are they hardwired from birth and trait dissimilarities are present all along?

 

[darkness975]

@darkness975 Something just occurred to me seeing these new post molt pictures. Does the immature male make a web much like the female complete with the sticky lines, or are there noticeable differences? This being, do they share the same traits then the mature male shifts to mating mode or are they hardwired from birth and trait dissimilarities are present all along?

From what I have observed with my captive specimens the webs of immature males do appear to be similar to a female's. They are smaller though and because they mature out faster they don't become anywhere near as grandiose.

I have not done any kind of detailed observations of wild specimens. Maybe some day. They're a lot harder to find in the wild, though.

 

[The Snark]

Maybe some day.

So they are just like average human males. Post puberty the brain shifts into drooling mode, pre-frontal cortex dissolves and.....
Sorry. Feeling a bit cynical tonight.

 

[RMELovesLife]

I finally saw him eating! Its a pinhead cricket that we placed on his web!

 

[darkness975]

I finally saw him eating! Its a pinhead cricket that we placed on his web! View attachment 436502 View attachment 436501

Without a female to free load off of he has to get his act together, at least for a bit. Hah.

 

[swatc1h]

now the time to eat and then flex . nice looking stud you got there . what the other has said with the male hanging around, what they have like couple month before it dies . can the male mate a second time .

 

[darkness975]

Can the male mate a second time .

 

[The Snark]

@darkness975 Outstanding video.

 

[darkness975]

@darkness975 Outstanding video.

I think it does a great job of summarizing.