What's with the Solid Black Legs?!

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davisfam

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We found this Wolfiie in our backyard a few months ago and I was just curious on the reasoning behind the front legs being black?! The only thing we could come up with was a recent molt possibly caused this black coloration? Just curious if anyone knew anything about this.. :?

Here are a couple pictures;




 
Widowman10

Widowman10

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my initial guess was a possible regenerated leg, but it looks almost the same size as the others. could still be it maybe? interesting nonetheless.
 
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Galapoheros

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very typical of mature rabidosa in my yard. I was bitten once while wondering what my rat terrier was messing with and rubbing my hand across the grass, I just didn't see it. The bite wasn't bad, itchy and calloused up a little for a few days.
 
Widowman10

Widowman10

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Galapoheros said:
very typical of mature rabidosa in my yard. I was bitten once while wondering what my rat terrier was messing with and rubbing my hand across the grass, I just didn't see it. The bite wasn't bad, itchy and calloused up a little for a few days.
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interesting! neat color pattern then.
 
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davisfam

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Galapoheros said:
very typical of mature rabidosa in my yard. I was bitten once while wondering what my rat terrier was messing with and rubbing my hand across the grass, I just didn't see it. The bite wasn't bad, itchy and calloused up a little for a few days.
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Hmm.. interesting! We were def. with you on the Rabid Wolfiie ID, I was just super confused because I couldn't find many other pictures showing this coloration on the front legs via the internet. Thanks! :)



Thanks EVERYone, we appreciate ALL the help! ;)
 
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dannyboypede

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i had a mature male wolf spider that had really front legs. when i tried to mate him with one of my females he used them to display and try to hold her down. it didnt work well and he got one of them bit off, but he was still a cool spider.;P
 
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davisfam

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dannyboypede said:
i had a mature male wolf spider that had really front legs. when i tried to mate him with one of my females he used them to display and try to hold her down. it didnt work well and he got one of them bit off, but he was still a cool spider.;P
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Haha, well.. that obviously wasn't a smart move, typical guy! Just kidding! :p Thanks for sharing! BTW, I'll get back to you about those slings as soon as we find out exactly what species she is! :? If you haven't already, please check out the previous thread.. maybe you can help out?! It would be appreciated tons. Also, we're still not sure on if the egg sac is fertile or not but considering she molted 1-2 weeks after finding her, it's more possible the egg sac is fertile but who knows?! ;)
 
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davisfam

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jsloan said:
There are several images at BugGuide.
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Yep, that's correct. Thanks, we already have that documentation but when it comes to photo's, we like to use other references besides just BugGuide. When using a search engine for "Male Rabidosa rabida" images, I couldn't find many besides the photos on BugGuide which is what I meant by that comment. We don't come across many male Rabid Wolfiies therefore our "hands-on" experience with the males is pretty much non-existent. Our question was leaning a little more towards, the reasoning behind this coloration; defense, reproduction, etc?! Yes, seeing these black solid front legs in person is indeed new to us and much different from just reading documents, sorry about that but we still appreciate the information! ;)
 
jsloan

jsloan

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davisfam said:
We don't come across many male Rabid Wolfiies therefore our "hands-on" experience with the males is pretty much non-existent.
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Do you have any pitfall traps set up in your yard? I catch far more spiders in mine than I would ever have seen otherwise.
 
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davisfam

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jsloan said:
Do you have any pitfall traps set up in your yard? I catch far more spiders in mine than I would ever have seen otherwise.
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No, we don't. I've done minor research on this tactic but we've never tried it although now that you mentioned it, I think we'll give it a try! :D
Is there a certain type of container/trap you have found that works the best?! I found many different types of these "Pitfall traps" online but I was wondering which works the best.
 
jsloan

jsloan

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I use the plastic drink cups you get at the supermarket, a couple dozen or so to a package. Most spiders can't crawl up the sides and escape. For larger spiders, get larger cups. Dig a hole in some dirt, place the cup in the hole so the rim is level with the ground, and that's about it. To keep out the rain put a piece of plywood over it, with a few rocks to lift up the plywood so there's about an inch of crawlspace underneath so the spiders can get under there. Place cups in any spots where you think spiders might frequent (experiment with different locations). Then, check the traps daily and see what you get. Chances are good that you'll see spiders you've never seen before. :)

Try not to put a trap near an anthill or ant trail. Ants that fall in are rough on the spiders (basically, they bite or even tear them apart).
 
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davisfam

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Sounds pretty simple! :) We'll def. give this a try, I am excited to see what we catch! Thanks, we appreciate the information tons! ;)
 
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