Why don't we have social spiders in captivity?

[xhexdx]

:drool:

Absolutely jealous of that. Too bad they're not around the States.

Thanks for sharing those pics.

 

[Ciphor]

^Ciphor, I'd like to see your Tegenaria setup if you don't mind posting it? I can't imagine them all tolerating one another like that but stranger things have happened. I figure once the sheet webs meet, things get really territorial.

I can get some pictures for ya np. It's odd you would think they are not tolerant of each other. I find Tegenaria agrestis tolerate each other very well, same with Agelenopsis spp. Usually when I lift a brick or rock off the ground I find at least 2+ females occupying the same area. T. gigantea on the other hand, not so much lol. Could be something unique to my region, it's simply my experience with capturing them. I believe, it is a learned tolerance due to the T. gigantea population. The hobos here basically take what territory is left over, odd places where a larger T. gigantea cannot fit, such as this plaque decor.

Also I should note, from my experience, T. agrestis do not make very large sheets. They typically make funnels and small sheet areas, if a sheet at all, so I do not think sheets touching is much of an issue. Though I have found some hobos with quite large sheets, comparable to T. gigantea

---------- Post added 11-26-2011 at 02:48 AM ----------

Forgot to add, I will post some pictures of my Agelenopsis setup too, it's a small maybe 1.5 gallon plastic tank, currently home to 3 Agelenopsis, 1 female & 2 males, they do not kill each other, all occupy the same sheet, but have separate retreats in the enclosure. Oddly, the female killed the first 2 males I placed in with her, but has bred with one of these males, and lets them live.

 

[Ciphor]

Best picture I have of it right now, took some new ones of it since I moved it into the tank, but cannot find my USB cord, ill post another update when I do. As a current update tho, 3 of the 7 spiders have recently moved out from under the decor, and 1 is now dead as of this morning =/

May have been the disruption to there webs that led to the moves and death, not really to sure but here is the best picture I have from when I first discovered it. You can see a big patch of lady bugs as well, very close proximity to one of the funnels. I believe, Agelenids do not eat lady bugs.

 

[zonbonzovi]

I knew about the displacement of agrestis by gigantea and presume that most of what I see is gigantea here. Lots of large individuals, although I'm seeing less and less each year. Probably from the fluctuations in population & competition from multiple species. It's interesting that you find the agrestis together, though I wonder if it's just tolerance for limited "prime" living space. I notice large aggregations of Callobius in my well pump shed but they're usually singular elsewhere. Thanks for posting a photo...

 

[Ciphor]

My hobo population has been booming, just not where my Giants reside. I think I may have finally found my first Tegenaria domestica! It's still young tho so could turn out to be a T. gigantea however the patterns do not look like any I've seen.

Anyway ya, I'm believe it is a learned tolerance due to the Giant housies. However still communal in my eyes, sub-communal scientifically. They really seem to avoid killing each other. I've noticed some weird behavior the last few summers. I'm almost 99% certain I witnessed a male T. agrestis attempt to mate with a female T. gigantea and not get eaten! The female was not full grown, she was likely sub-adult, but she was black as black could be and that male had some fat boxers on the palps with short legs. Very Tan. I watched for 30 minutes while he tapped on her abdomen from behind with his palps, trying to then poke them underneath for some action, she always shoot away. They went back and forth like this then he just left. I captured the male but left her. He is 100% a hobo, her on the other hand... Next time I went back to capture for an ID on the sternum spots she proved challenging, her funnel went far deeper then I thought. At any rate she got away, so I guess I'll never know for certain if she was a super dark hobo or a Giant.

I got some pictures on my profile of a Giant eating a Hobo, if your a fan of Tegens like I am