Wanted: Female Black Widow

[jess578]

Or brown widow.

My brown recluse recently passed on, he was very spoiled and his little habitat now contains a cellar spider that I'm not terribly fond of.

You can see pictures I posted of him in this thread here:
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=189567

I never handled my recluse, and I don't plan on handling a black widow either, but I was wondering if anyone has any extra that they wouldn't mind shipping to me when the weather gets warmer? I'm willing to reimburse the shipping costs via paypal, and even pay you a few bucks for the spider as well.

I currently have a red house spider (Nesticodes rufipes) that is similar in body shape and which I find very beautiful and I also love the cobweb she's made. I like the neatness of having a dangerous spider, and I know that widows are very docile and harmless as long as they are not handled or bothered.

They're not terribly abundant out here in Chicago, I found them more readily when I lived in South Dakota a few years ago.

Alternately, if anyone knows a good place to find them in either Chicago, or Champaign since I visit friends out there every so often, them I'm game to check those places out.

I'm also going to Oklahoma for a few days later this month, so I will check while I'm there as well.

I'm x-posting this in the Want to Buy boards as well.

Thanks!
- Jess

 

[Widowman10]

I'm also going to Oklahoma for a few days later this month, so I will check while I'm there as well.

you're sure to find plenty of them out there. that would save you shipping cost and spider cost, and you'll likely find more than you want to take home

I like the neatness of having a dangerous spider

that statement probably won't go over too well...

you could get a pho! hahaha (j/k)

 

[jess578]

Any recommendations on good places to look? I'll be staying in a hotel, so I unfortunately won't have access to anyone's old cellar or anything.

 

[Widowman10]

Any recommendations on good places to look? I'll be staying in a hotel, so I unfortunately won't have access to anyone's old cellar or anything.

anywhere really. corners near the ground. look for webs during the day, and go back at night and the spiders should be hanging in the web. webs will be shiny and sometimes have clutter. i will eventually make a video about this stuff. someday...

if you want more info, check HERE

 

[huntsman]

Hi,
The brown relcluse looks like an awsome spider,
but is it true about there venom? is it realy bad?
I just want to know because im confused
thanks

 

[loxoscelesfear]

i have collected many black and brown widows at gas stations and rest stops in the southern states. you do not have to travel far to find widows if you're in the right territory. keep an eye out for southern house spiders (Kukulcania hibernalis) too. happy hunting.

 

[Venom]

Hi,
The brown relcluse looks like an awsome spider,
but is it true about there venom? is it realy bad?
I just want to know because im confused
thanks

Yes, the brown recluse ( Loxosceles reclusa ) has a cytotoxic venom that can cause serious necrotic wounds, and occasionally a blood and kidney poisoning syndrome. It's one of over fifty species in the Loxo' genus, and is not the worst of its genus. L. laeta from Chile is the worst, with a fatality rate of 3.7% from kidney failure and its bites fequently cause horrible necrosis even when not fatal. L. intermedia and L. gaucho average about 1 - 2% fatality. L. reclusa does not have an established fatality rate, but has caused or contributed to a handful of deaths, mostly in the elderly. The bite is usually a local effect only, but it ranges from mild to quite severe local necrosis.

But, the recluse spiders are topped by an even worse necrotic spider, the "six-eyed sand spiders" of the genus Sicarius. The recluse and sand spiders have the same toxin in their venom ( known as SMD ), but the sand spiders have much a more concentrated venom, and much more of it. Run a search on them in this forum for more info.

 

[The Spider Faery]

My brown recluse recently passed on, he was very spoiled and his little habitat now contains a cellar spider that I'm not terribly fond of.

Let's see a pic of your cellar spider. I recently found a cellar spiderling that I intended to keep, but so far it's not showing interest in food. It may be getting ready to molt, though. But yah, it doesn't seem like it's going to be as interesting to keep as my 'false' widow, so I understand your desire to get something else.

 

[Necromion]

If your looking for widows, I hate to say this but a place to start is your own hotel room. I regret to say I found a juvinile widow this way once. or even just plain around the outside of your hotel. they are surprisingly easy to find, on the same trip i came home with 3 widows and could have come home with many more.