Latrodectus (Theridiidae) Picture Thread

[Chris.Nagel]

Hello,
the first picture shows the Epygine, second the Spermathek, and third the microstructurehairs.
Property all of this then with the firstdescription of lilianae of Melic to find compared there there 2000 also the regulation key for tredecimguttatus is.

 

[Rizzolo]

i would love to hear more about that Chris.

my revivensis line (from a female not part of the common US bloodlines) bred with Steven's male and i have 100s of offspring. i had assumed that she was not gravid when i got her because she molted before mating with buthus' male. however, i have been told by another latro lover that widows can mate (when penultimate), then molt, and still be gravid and produce viable sacs. so, it is possible she was gravid when i got her, and she did not actually mate with buthus' male. i have previously assumed they must be the same species, but given that she produced her first sac only 10 days after mating, i have reason to doubt that buthus' male is the actual father.

regarding the behavioral issues with tredecimguttatus vs revivensis: all of my so-called revivensis females produce canopies in their webs. the only other species i have that does this is mirabilis (which looks similar, except for coloring). i have not read anything about the behavior of black treds, but my 13-spot treds don't exhibit this behaviour at all.

i have a whole bunch of these revivensis for anyone who is interested. tomorrow, i will post photos of their canopy webs in their deli cups.

david

 

[8+)]

i had assumed that she was not gravid when i got her because she molted before mating with buthus' male. however, i have been told by another latro lover that widows can mate (when penultimate), then molt, and still be gravid and produce viable sacs. so, it is possible she was gravid when i got her, and she did not actually mate with buthus' male.

That second female bishopi I posted pics of with the sac, I had observed mating. I removed the male and placed him with another female. Then a day or two later she molted. I almost posted about it because I was surprised that they would even mate before maturity.

I'm not diligent with records, so I just assumed I got her mixed up, or had put another male in with her and forgot. I'm pretty positive that's not the case, however, which supports that theory.

i have previously assumed they must be the same species, but given that she produced her first sac only 10 days after mating, i have reason to doubt that buthus' male is the actual father.

I believe it is possible for them to produce a sac that quickly, if they have unfertilized eggs waiting when they're mated?

 

[John Apple]

I had a conversation With Frank Soma a while back and the widows will breed and then shed and still produce viable sacs. This is something I am in the process of finding out si I will keep ya posted

 

[UrbanJungles]

Some geometricus pics

 

[Rizzolo]

L mirabilis?

here are some shots of my recenty matured (i think) L mirabilis (i think).

forgot the revivensis photos i promised (showing canopy). spent saturday morning rescuing them from another ant invasion. i lost many, many revivenis males unfortunately.

 

[UrbanJungles]

Sorry to hear that David.
Great pics!

 

[Canth]

Sorry to hear about the ant attack

On a side note, that mirabilis looks like it has a spade on its back!

 

[8+)]

She looks like her name should be Latrodectus triangulosa!

UrbanJungles, I really like those light geos!

 

[Rizzolo]

I hate argentine ants!!!!!

The L mirabilis is interesting and i love those dorsal markings! I didn't think she was mature because her legs were so short and she is way ahead of her siblings. she seemed to be ready for the male that you can see in the picture. they had been mating seemingly continuously for about 2 days, when i finally interrupted to get the photo. he was on her her ventral abdomen (looked like he was sleeping on her) and moved just before photo. after her last molt, she started eating like crazy and puffed up big. hopefully, she is gravid. can't wait to see what the egg sacs look like.

their behaviour is a little similar to my revivensis. they build a canopy with detritus, dead bugs and stuff, and tend to use that as a retreat, rather than building a funnel-shaped retreat, as many other species do.

i will try to get some better lighting and get a closeup of the "hourglass."

 

[John Apple]

Here is a good idea to keep the ants off the slings, worked for me when I lived in Florida.
Set the table legs in cups of water or better yet Diatomaceous earth.
Most ants will not cross the water barrier and the earth will definately deter them even if sugar was the prize

 

[UrbanJungles]

I've also used the cups filled with vegetable oil...it's effective albeit messy!

 

[Rizzolo]

this is off-topic now, but i can't resist. i use the water barrier method a lot (for out cat food too). i could not keep my roach colony without putting it on stilts sitting in water. i also use the boric acid barrier method and boric acid bait (mixed with powdered sugar). the water is completely effective. the boric acid is sort of effective. if their scouts locate something they really want, they will run right over it. i'm sure they die later, but in the meantime, they can make off with my spiders. it is amazing how far out of their way they will go to get the prize. i have found the best solution is to track down their hives and poison them directly (i use an over-the-counter bifethrin insecticide that is very effective). sometimes they will make a hive in the walls i think (assholes!).

i am thinking of making little pedestals for my T and widow cages that have a water reservoir at the bottom. i will just have to make sure that they are not touching each other, or anything else.

there are few things that make me as frustrated and mad as seeing ants overrunning one of my spiders.

 

[buthus]

How large are these ants? Do they come in and cross your room in ant "highways"?

 

[Rizzolo]

they are small black ants, about 3/32" long. yes, they cross our house in giant superhighways when they locate something they want. it takes them about an hour or less to completely take over and area.

we made it through the weekend with no ant attacks. i was out of town and was wondering what i would come home to. i have recently found some nests and have poisoned them directly. i guess that was somewhat effective.

the argentine ants are a giant supercolony (i think that is the term they use). the nests are not antagonistic to each other, but act like one.

 

[buthus]

they are small black ants, about 3/32" long. yes, they cross our house in giant superhighways when they locate something they want. it takes them about an hour or less to completely take over and area.

we made it through the weekend with no ant attacks. i was out of town and was wondering what i would come home to. i have recently found some nests and have poisoned them directly. i guess that was somewhat effective.

the argentine ants are a giant supercolony (i think that is the term they use). the nests are not antagonistic to each other, but act like one.

\

Ive been tracking down where the ant highways start from ...crack in wall, pipes under sink, etc and I inject a good load of wasp/bee poison spray ...then I caulk the hole/crack so its sealed shut.

 

[Rizzolo]

Ive been tracking down where the ant highways start from ...crack in wall, pipes under sink, etc and I inject a good load of wasp/bee poison spray ...then I caulk the hole/crack so its sealed shut.

new construction is much better as far as sealing cracks and such, and that makes it much harder for the ants. as i renovate areas of my 1930s house, i seal up everything as tight as i can and i makes a big difference. we have no real baseboards originally, so they come up mostly through the cracks around the perimeter of the rooms. i could go around each room and caulk the crack, but haven't done that yet.

buthus - what active ingredient is in the poison that you use?

 

[buthus]

buthus - what active ingredient is in the poison that you use?

Not sure .. threw the can away a bit back. Was using some bee/wasp spray, name brand, black can ...nasty stuff... and only when I knew Id be sealing off the pathway. Not a good thing to be using a lot of. You dont want that shat getting into your invert enclosures.
A few weeks ago, I had a major ant infiltration coming in via a small space where my plaster work wasnt up to par next to my sink pipes. I took some trusty 409 and squirted a bunch into the crack, sealed it and then wiped up the entire ant trail that led all the way to me enclosures. I had to rehouse two widows because they were being driven nutzo from the ants. No more ants from under the sink anyway.

I insulated and put up sheet rock in my room ...sealed the walls well. This of course helped reduce the ant infiltration to a minimum. Once in awhile they come thru the easiest spot... the door (door to outside). When this happens I wipe up the entire highway with windex or 409 ...doing so all the way outside. Once the ant path is broken and with high numbers not returning, they always give up for quite some time. Though, I do realize that Im not dealing with a specie as aggressively determined as you are.

 

[8+)]

More pics, less ant talk!!! ;P

Here's one of my L. bishopi with sac. I posted them before, but Steven cleaned them up for me :worship: , so I thought I put the edits here:

 

[BertWright]

Re: Lactrodectus - Black Widows

Before moving to Alabama, I had seen only one or two Black Widows. After moving there, I noticed that there were Lactrodectus mactans ALL OVER - I will say that they generally stay outside and rarely come inside a home. The closest that I found them inside were in the Doorways and windows. They love the eaves of a house too.

I kept a few, but the Black Widow uses a web to capture food, and I just wasn't willing enough to set up an enclosure where they could build their webs. Their webs are SUPER strong - and if you ever go to pulling on some of their webbing, you may just pull one out of its hiding place and onto your hand.

O.K., the markings on Black Widows vary within the species. The Lactrodectus mactans or Southern Black Widow CAN and usually does have an hour glass on their abdomen - but sometimes it is on their back. Sometimes it is undefined or separated and some Lactrodectus mactans are not Black and they do NOT have red, but white markings. That is what I learned about the Lactrodectus mactans or Southern Black Widow. They have been handled but I would NOT recommend it as people HAVE died from a Black Widow bite (it is NOT an overly aggressive spider though - bites are mostly caused by inadvertent contact). Tough sticky webbing is a sign of a Black Widow being near and generally if you see one, there are many close by.

Bert Wright
Fellow Tarantula Keeper/Enthusiast