Latrodectus hesperus slings

[darkness975]

So I was not expecting any of the egg sacks I got from my female Latrodectus hesperus to hatch. But one or more of them did. I dont have the means to house or feed them all individually so I'm going to let them canabalize and hope there is more than one female left at the end.

I believe I can already tell which ones are female but a molt or two should really solidify that.

I don't think they can escape from this container. It's from mantispets (Rebecca Salutric) and the lid fits nice and snug and has mesh to cover the air holes but still allows airflow.

 

[The Snark]

Could you keep a rough track of the ratio of males to females through the instars? I got to thinking this could be used as a species survival indicator used in comparison to others like geometricus.

 

[darkness975]

Could you keep a rough track of the ratio of males to females through the instars? I got to thinking this could be used as a species survival indicator used in comparison to others like geometricus.

You mean as they canabalize?

Something I read before discusses L. geometricus and there is one school of thought that they are much more reliant on human habitations to survive while hesperus retains dominion over the less developed areas. At least in southern California.

 

[The Snark]

You mean as they canabalize?

Yes. Cannibalizing in a contained area is an accelerated form of natural selection. It's a theory I've been toying with that may help explain the spread of competitors like the Geos while other Latro species are in decline.

 

[darkness975]

Yes. Cannibalizing in a contained area is an accelerated form of natural selection. It's a theory I've been toying with that may help explain the spread of competitors like the Geos while other Latro species are in decline.

I'll see what I can do.

Hopefully L hesperus as a whole won't be threatened. But only time will tell ...

 

[darkness975]

The surprise egg sacks never cease (far left).

 

[darkness975]

Update.
The sole survivor.

 

[darkness975]

Update. I think the survivor (post #7) is a male.

 

[Ferrachi]

One survivor from all those little spiderlings ?