Latrodectus geometricus

blackbird939

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Hi, This is my first post.

Caught her today, with 3 sacs. I have read the many posts about what to do with the sacs and slings if I should decide to try and raise them. I misted the jar before I had the sense to take a picture. This is the best I could get.
I found this behind my house, under the rungs of a step ladder... It had a male in the web as well.
 

8+)

Arachnolord
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Nice find!!! She's a very pretty one!:drool:
 

blackbird939

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Do you guys think that these sacs are ready? I want to remove them asap. Anybody know when I could or SHOULD do that?

Sacs number of days old: unknown...

Michael
 

buthus

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Do you guys think that these sacs are ready? I want to remove them asap. Anybody know when I could or SHOULD do that?

Sacs number of days old: unknown...

Michael
Yes, remove them and put each in its own container. You don't want geos hatching with the adult.. it will be very difficult dealing with the slings if they do. ;)
 

blackbird939

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Wow... My son and I went to the Gym just now. Now that I know what the geometricus egg sack looks like, I sought them out. I found about 8 of them, each with a brownie guarding close by.
I am in Orlando. Never ran into a brown widow on a casual basis, but if you actually look for them... Wow... everywhere... at least here.

I'll keep you guys posted as to when these eggs hatch...
 

buthus

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Wow... My son and I went to the Gym just now. Now that I know what the geometricus egg sack looks like, I sought them out. I found about 8 of them, each with a brownie guarding close by.
I am in Orlando. Never ran into a brown widow on a casual basis, but if you actually look for them... Wow... everywhere... at least here.

I'll keep you guys posted as to when these eggs hatch...
Collect them all ...at the very least collect the sacs and flush 'em, give em to spider keepers, whatever. Do what you can to keep the population down around your area. Your native species will appreciate it greatly. ;)
 

Pulk

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Collect them all ...at the very least collect the sacs and flush 'em, give em to spider keepers, whatever. Do what you can to keep the population down around your area. Your native species will appreciate it greatly. ;)
you mean other spiders, etc. that the widows eat/displace?
 

blackbird939

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Collect them all ...at the very least collect the sacs and flush 'em, give em to spider keepers, whatever. Do what you can to keep the population down around your area. Your native species will appreciate it greatly. ;)

Ok. Anybody want a L. Geo eggsac? I can literally get my mitts on 6-8 or so. You'd pay for shipping, and maybe even a gallon of gas for the trip. :D

Even better would be an even swap for another widow! I can't seem to locate a standard L. mactans in the wild here. I knew they are out there, but I never find 'em.
Michael
 

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Arachnolord
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...and they're good at eating other spiders. I imagine it's futile to try to slow them down.
 

buthus

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...and they're good at eating other spiders. I imagine it's futile to try to slow them down.
I think of it this way... If the geos in your backyard can reduce the population of your native species, then you can easily do the same to the geos. Yes, its weeding the garden, but even if you weed once a month, your desired plants stand a better chance. ;)
I've reduced my hesp population many times ...successfully. Geos do seem to reproduce more than most latros and do so faster, but they continue due to sheer numbers ...reduce those numbers and nature will help do the rest.
 

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I wonder if/when I'll ever find the the need to do that here in Atlanta?
 

blackbird939

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I wonder if/when I'll ever find the the need to do that here in Atlanta?
Yeah, they are seriously everywhere. I saw a mactans, or so I think... but she was good at dashing back into an impossible hideout. The Geos are brazen, out in the open and easy to spot. I know of at least three separate buildings within walking distance with spiky eggs.

Michael
 

Pulk

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Yeah, they are seriously everywhere. I saw a mactans, or so I think... but she was good at dashing back into an impossible hideout. The Geos are brazen, out in the open and easy to spot. I know of at least three separate buildings within walking distance with spiky eggs.

Michael
can I hijack your thread to ask a question? thanks. :)

if you can't detect any dorsal markings, how safe is it to assume it's a hesp? (in blackbird's case, a mactans)
 

blackbird939

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can I hijack your thread to ask a question? thanks. :)

if you can't detect any dorsal markings, how safe is it to assume it's a hesp? (in blackbird's case, a mactans)


Dunno. What I saw was a cobweb spider, dash out in from of a window after some prey. It was black, the exact same size as my other full grown widows and the web was sloppy. That was an ID to me. I mean, these are the largest cobweb spiders...right? I read that on Wiki, so who knows. I like to see the posterior and anterior to make a judgement of course.
 

Pulk

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heh, i can definitely tell if it's a widow. what i meant was determining if one is a hesperus or a geometricus...
 

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Arachnolord
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I saw an S. grossa last night that I thought was a widow at first, she was SO BIG! She ran into a hide. I'll try to get pics tonight.
 

blackbird939

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heh, i can definitely tell if it's a widow. what i meant was determining if one is a hesperus or a geometricus...
Far as I know, the only way to tell a jet black geo from any other type is the geometric shaped eggsac. That's what I keep reading. Found 5 more geos yesterday and today. I will let them go for $5 + shipping, just to get rid of a few. They are neat spiders, but I have too many now. The odd thing is, tonight, I found a BUNCH of geo eggsacs, all hatched, and the moms were all gone. There was a new spider in each area. Looks like a little wolf. I'll have to take pictures. Maybe this spider can muscle the geos off the throne around here. I just want a good source for mactans in the wild.
 
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