Latrodectus

[darkness975]

Just showing off some of my Latrodectus mactans and hesperus slings. And a couple of shots of some of my adults just for good measure!

 

[Svana]

You setups are so cool!! Do you order online? I’ve been look for a reputable place to order from and not having much luck.

 

[Wolfram1]

Nice, a friend of mine has kept quite a few Latrodectus sp. over the years.
He uses cups like you do for your slings exept he even keeps his adults in there, with 2 fairly stiff wires crossed just below the lid. Punched through the plastic to fix them in place.

This way he can open the cups without destroying their webs for feedings and he even tipped one cup over 180° to show me how safe they are to keep and the spider stayed just were it was.

I am not really interested in keeping them myself but their hunting strategy and webs are fascinating.

 

[darkness975]

You setups are so cool!! Do you order online? I’ve been look for a reputable place to order from and not having much luck.

I ordered some of them online from a couple different breeders. I've been breeding them myself now too. L. variolus is one of the species native to my area but I have not found any in some time. I use clear food storage containers. My favorite are the BINO brand ones with the rubbery tops I can poke air holes in.

I use the deli cups for the slings and juveniles.

Nice, a friend of mine has kept quite a few Latrodectus sp. over the years.
He uses cups like you do for your slings exept he even keeps his adults in there, with 2 fairly stiff wires crossed just below the lid. Punched through the plastic to fix them in place.

This way he can open the cups without destroying their webs for feedings and he even tipped one cup over 180° to show me how safe they are to keep and the spider stayed just were it was.

I am not really interested in keeping them myself but their hunting strategy and webs are fascinating.

I do mostly the same thing!

 

[darkness975]

Updates on some of my collection.

L. mactans and L. hasselti. Can you tell the difference?

 

[darkness975]

Wide shot of some of the collection.








L. hasselti females.


L hasselti (immmature male)

 

[darkness975]

L hesperus

 

[darkness975]

This way he can open the cups without destroying their webs for feedings and he even tipped one cup over 180° to show me how safe they are to keep and the spider stayed just were it was.

I can do the same thing once they are established. I do not advocate for complacency but in the case of my widows I can take the lid off and turn my eyes for a few seconds without too much worry. But I always have a side eye on them regardless.

 

[Wolfram1]

oh absolutely, despite the ease of care they still pack a potent venom

 

[The Snark]

L. mactans and L. hasselti. Can you tell the difference?

Thanks to you providing forensic evidence, yes.
Back in the early 1990's there was a major fad of casting red backs in resin and using them as decorations. A red back gear shifter in your truck as common as a gun rack in the back window in the US midwaste throughout the N.T. and Queensland. Not sure if that is still common there.
Red backs were as common as Hesperus in suburbia back then. One in every dark hole or crevice.

 

[darkness975]

Thanks to you providing forensic evidence, yes.
Back in the early 1990's there was a major fad of casting red backs in resin and using them as decorations. A red back gear shifter in your truck as common as a gun rack in the back window in the US midwaste throughout the N.T. and Queensland. Not sure if that is still common there.
Red backs were as common as Hesperus in suburbia back then. One in every dark hole or crevice.

As long as geometricus hasn't made it there they should be okay.

 

[The Snark]

As long as geometricus hasn't made it there they should be okay.

Going partly by what Vetter said of Geo not being tolerant of remote arid locations, I'd say the entire northern half of Aus is safe from them plus a very hostile crowd of indigenous animals, both of which Hasselti has had many eons to adapt to. Pretty much all of Queensland, Northern Territory and the north half of Western is roughly the same clime as the Mjojave desert 8-9 monhs a year and torrential rains and flooding the remainder.