crab spiders

[Lisa Baines]

ok, here's the story...

last week we received our cricket order through the post. sorted out the crickets and just as I was about to throw the egg crate away, I spotted 2 egg sacs.

so being the spider friendly people we are, we decided to incubate the eggs and hopefully give the little critters the chance of life.

Tonight we spotted the sacs were hatching and we have LOADS of dinky little crab spiders! Been told on another forum that they are likely to be Thanatus vulgaris.

So does anyone here have experience with these crab spiders and can you give us a few pointers in rearing them. I have given them some pre-killed cricket because we have no micro's at the moment.
Are the communal or do they need separating at some point?

From what I have found so far I believe they prefer dry conditions. Should I give them a light misting or do they get all their moisture from food at the moment?

not reared true spiders before so this is a new learning curve. So many questions I dont know where to start lol

cheers xxx

[mary walters]

We've had a few of these and some have survived to colonise our spider room, every now and then one will dangle and scare me to death. They are soo small I think I fed mine on greenfly, no, I don't use pesticides, neither did my neighbour at the time.

[Lisa Baines]

Right so if kept these in house humidity and temperature they will be ok then. Cool.

well last night I managed to find a load of small pin heads. So I chucked them in, I witnessed one take a cricket down so I figured they would be ok to be left overnight...
This morning had me giggling, it was mass carnage in the tub, about 50 headless crickets litter the ground! now some of the crickets were about 3 times the size of the spiders and they had no problem tackling them! I have to say I'm impressed!

Wicked!!! another rearing project gunna enjoy this

[mary walters]

Amazing what size they can take eh??

[Lisa Baines]

yes it surprised me! pretty neat though

[Andy Wood]

Where did you get the crickets from Lisa, can't find Thanatus vulgaris in my European spider book have got arenarius, formicinus,sabulosus and striatus, think it's a North American species...... Interesting...

http://bugguide.net/node/view/7111/bgpage

AndyZoo

[Lisa Baines]

lol I'm only going on what I have been told on another forum lol! I know very little about our native true spiders. It is certainly possible that they are something else!

got the crix from livefoods direct.

[Steven Williams]

So does anyone here have experience with these crab spiders and can you give us a few pointers in rearing them. I have given them some pre-killed cricket because we have no micro's at the moment.
Are the communal or do they need separating at some point?

From what I have found so far I believe they prefer dry conditions. Should I give them a light misting or do they get all their moisture from food at the moment?

Hi Lisa,

First of all, regarding food: crab spiders are known for having a powerful toxin that is capable of taking down preadetors larger than themselves, I have seen photos of some species attacking bumble-bees and winning(!), so it's not surprising that the little ones are eating the crickets. I would recomend that you try either springtails (beat a bush with a washing up bowl held underneath and they'll fall in) or fruit flies (always a good back up plan).

Second, housing: they ARE going to need to be separated otherwise they will eat each other when they feel hungry. In terms of housing them 90% of all the crab spiders I have found (for research reasons) have been on flowers or leaves. It is recomended in the BAS Members' Handbook that if you are wanting to keep crab spiders 'they do well inside small containers with a sprig of leaves or a flower-head they can patrol and use to ambush their prey.' The only time I reared a crab spider (for identification) I took the whole leaf that I found her sitting on and she seemed to do well.

Third, moisture: I would give them a light misting, just to make sure, and as they get older certainly they will need a bit of extra moisture than is in the air.

Hope this helps,

Steven

[Lisa Baines]

Thank you steven, some very useful information there.

some of the bigger ones have already eaten their smaller siblings... however there are still more in the tub than I can count!

I'm going to have a nosey in the 'tub box' later to see what small tubs we have for when I separate them. I'm sure I can pic up some cheap plastic flowers from the garden centre for them to feel at home on.

[Andrew Ferguson]

How often are you feeding them Lisa?

[Lisa Baines]

every 2-3 days or so. Not seen much in the way of cannibalism.

tonight I separated out some of the larger ones into 2 juvi jars with a little substrate and some colourful fake leaves for them to perch on. about 6 or 7 in each jar. plenty of space for them for the time being. As they get bigger I will spread them out from there. (put some kitchen roll fixed with an elastic band for the lids or they would get out of the air holes in the plastic lids!)

I have noticed on the larger ones that they are getting yellowish abdomens. some more yellow some more mustard in colour, but I understand they can change their colour somewhat.

However the other sac has erupted and there are LOADS of little babies in there now.

Now obviously I am not going to keep all... ooooh... 100+ of them!!! just keep a couple eventually. but where would be the best place to release the young 'uns? a nice garden full of flowers? We have some great woodland area's around here, would they do ok there?

[Thomas Pitchford]

This is terribly exciting - I'm so envious! I've seen one of the white crab spiders sometime last year. I was so hoping they would be "heathers" - I would have begged one of you - little Barbie-pink spiders that are gorgeous - and of course my wife is Heather, so mega points on the cuddle scale if I ever get one for her!!

[Lisa Baines]

awww bless

I think I can honestly say that up until now, I have never ever seen a crab spider before. So this is a learning curve for me. I cant wait to find out exactly what they are.

[Andrew Ferguson]

Now obviously I am not going to keep all... ooooh... 100+ of them!!! just keep a couple eventually. but where would be the best place to release the young 'uns? a nice garden full of flowers? We have some great woodland area's around here, would they do ok there?

Not sure whats in and around Halifax, but if you're anywhere near Leeds, perhaps pop by Roundhay Park. They have lots of colourful flowers there, especially in the Blind Garden. Lots of fragrant flowers. Might be an attraction to flies which in turn will be a nice Sunday dinner for crab spiders.

[Steven Williams]

I don't want to ruin all your plans Lisa but personally, because you don't know if the spiders are native to Britain, I would not release them. It would be the same as putting a baby tarantula in a British park. What I would do, seeing as you are being overrun by the little things, is either: kill them, feed them to other things or keep them in one container untill only the strongest survive. This may sound cruel but personally I don't think that releasing them, without knowing what they are, is a good idea at all.

This is only my personal view.

Steven