post breeding moult question.

[chris raeburn]

Hi All,

Quick questions about post breeding moulting.

Do females moult after successfully breeding before being able to breed again or can they produce more than one brood? (in the same skin and from a separate mating).

If they must moult before re-breeding does the breeding process accelerate this or does it remain 'on schedule' ?

Regards,

Chris

[Peter Lacey]

I can only answer this in part but hopefully someone else will be able to give the full picture.
Certain species are known to have more than 1 sac from the same breeding and these are consecutive rather than at the same time. P. cambridgei have been known to produce 3 sacs and I currently have a P. murinus that produced a 2nd sac, now with stage 2 nymphs.
Once the female moults any sperm the female holds is discarded so to obtain another sac there would have to be another mating.
Both my P. regalis and P. striata moulted a few months after the slings arrived but I was told I could mate these once the egg sac had been laid.
So, it suggests the female does not have to moult before producing a 2nd sac or mating again to produce another sac. However, I'd guess the timescale would play a part in this, in that if the female was mated soon after a moult and the sac was laid after 3 months its quite possible the female could be mated again. But considering many species are only receptive within a timeframe between moults its difficult to generalise the possibilities.
It should also be noted that although you might have success mating the female you may find the female subsequently moults out, as did my G. mollicoma after 7 months!

[chris raeburn]

thanks for that Peter.
I knew of multiple broods from a single pairing but was unsure of them otherwise. It sort of makes sense that they can - particularly for species with a fast turn around; OBT, dwarfs, etc.

I'll try pairing my Cyriocosmus elegans again and see if she'll do another brood.

I've a Chaetopelma female successfully mated 3 times who's grown fat as a bean but no sign as yet. 4 months so far. I'm waiting optimistically - and probably will until she moults!

All best,

Chris

[Mrs Linda Street]

Interestingly, one of our L. Parahybanas abandonded her eggsac, and moulted 10 days later, and I assume that was why the eggsac was abandonded.