Tips for hunting P. Audax in winter?

[TheAuduxity]

Hi all, I’m looking for hibernating P. Audax in Southern Ontario. It’s my understanding that I will find one in a white funnel-type nest? I assume their eggs cannot survive freezing temps, but slings can in their sac? Any tips for me? Where would you look? Will all the funnel-webs around here be jumpers?

My intention with them is to breed and increase the local population, maybe get locals into jumping spiders as they’re apparently extremely hard to buy around here (and being winter they are obviously not being shipped).

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers!

 

[xXTristinaXx]

Well, I’m not sure how cold it gets for you but you can see them usually on walls where there is sun so they can warm up

 

[TheAuduxity]

-22c was the coldest day so far. I live in Ontario, Canada. They are not out and about, lol.

 

[xXTristinaXx]

Inside your house? It’s nice and warm and I’m sure they’ll take advantage of that

 

[TheAuduxity]

Looked everywhere . My cat killed a zebra jumper yesterday but I couldn’t find anything else. Not one spider. I’m actually quite mad about it.

I did find some egg sacs outside but I don’t know that they’ll ever hatch or if they’re even jumpers (did come from a funnel-web sac).

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Larger funnels near the ground are likely grass spiders. Jumper sleeping bags are smaller and often, but not always, built higher up. Looks for spots that are sheltered from wind and rain, ideally with southern exposure. You can also often find them indoors in winter, but they're unlikely to be in a spot that you can easily see or access in your home.

 

[TheAuduxity]

Thank you for your reply,

For the most part, I am looking for the higher-up ones (window corners, awnings, trees, bridges, etc.).
I found these so far in a 1.5 inch oval funnel, but I’m quite certain they are dead (they’re hard, it’s been as cold as -22°C).
What a crummy time to discover Phidippus, I’ve done so much research, but now I just need to find one . Audax, Princeps, and Clarus can be found here, but nobody has any for sale that I can find.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Just wait for summer, you'll be able to find plenty in Southern Ontario.

 

[TheAuduxity]

Larger funnels near the ground are likely grass spiders. Jumper sleeping bags are smaller and often, but not always, built higher up. Looks for spots that are sheltered from wind and rain, ideally with southern exposure. You can also often find them indoors in winter, but they're unlikely to be in a spot that you can easily see or access in your home.

Do you know of any other funnel weavers in Ontario besides Jumpers and Grass?

Just wait for summer, you'll be able to find plenty in Southern Ontario.

I might have to, but darned if I’m not going to try and find one lol!

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Jumpers aren't really funnel weavers - they build a tube but it's more of an aerial burrow. Funnel weavers use their webs for catching prey - the tube part is the burrow and the rest splays out into a platform that they use as a hunting ground. There are plenty of other spiders that build tube-like web sacs - commonly in Ontario you'll find sac spiders (both Cheiracanthium and Clubionidae families) as well, and their web has a 'sleeping bag' look similar to many jumpers.

 

[TheAuduxity]

Thank you so much for clarifying!! That’s very helpful!

 

[Nicole C G]

Phidippus audax over-winter in their silk “nests”. A great place to find them is inside the bark of trees! So if you find a tree with bark you can peel back, check there!

 

[TheAuduxity]

Phidippus audax over-winter in their silk “nests”. A great place to find them is inside the bark of trees! So if you find a tree with bark you can peel back, check there!

Is this ethical if I plan to care for them in my home? One of the mods of r/spiders said I would likely kill them? But I don’t know if they understood that I mean to keep them.

Eventually I would love to breed Audux when I’m more experienced

 

[Nicole C G]

Is this ethical if I plan to care for them in my home? One of the mods of r/spiders said I would likely kill them? But I don’t know if they understood that I mean to keep them.

Eventually I would love to breed Audux when I’m more experienced

If you mean to keep them it’s totally fine! As long as you are careful while peeling back the bark. That’s probably the main way to find them during winter. If you want no risks then it’s best to wait until they come out on their own. If you do it in winter, maybe do it on a warmer than average day

 

[TheAuduxity]

Thanks for the advice! Is there anything I should know about warming them up? I assume it should be gradual, but to what degree?

 

[CRX]

I have two P Audax currently, both juveniles, both undergone one molt each successfully so far. I actually caught them both in my room over the past month. Thats honestly the only place I find jumpers in the cold months here in Kentucky. Just pay close attention around windows and anywhere a small bug could crawl inside the house. Jumpers crawl in a pretty distinctive way.

 

[gorybmovie]

Hi all, I’m looking for hibernating P. Audax in Southern Ontario. It’s my understanding that I will find one in a white funnel-type nest? I assume their eggs cannot survive freezing temps, but slings can in their sac? Any tips for me? Where would you look? Will all the funnel-webs around here be jumpers?

My intention with them is to breed and increase the local population, maybe get locals into jumping spiders as they’re apparently extremely hard to buy around here (and being winter they are obviously not being shipped).

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers!

I found my P. Audax by my front door. It had a next up in the door jam and came in after we had a massive snow storm. I've attached a photo of the nest my Audax was living in before I moved her to an enclosure. This video on YouTube is a good one for those looking for jumping spider nests outside in the winter.

 

[TheAuduxity]

Haha, I saw that video! So far no luck under bark or anywhere for that matter! Oh well! I really enjoy hiking anyway so it’s not time wasted imo. So lucky that you found one right outside your door

 

[TheWidowsPeak]

I don't like to remove loose bark from trees, I find them on buildings, under siding, in the cracks between my screen door and the frame, and in woodpiles pretty frequently. Although this year I haven't seen as many for some reason.

 

[gorybmovie]

I never would have seen her but we had a big snowstorm and she came inside. I'm actually really afraid of spiders but I figured that if I put her outside she probably wasn't going to survive and if I left her be, she might starve or my husband would squish her. So I got her an enclosure and have been keeping her fed. I've really grown to enjoy having her around. Plus I've been researching spiders so that I can help her thrive. It's all been great for helping me to overcome my fears.

Here's a pic of Ichabod when I first found her on the side of my door.