|
Home
Up
Venoms
Discovery
Spider
Scorpion
Centipede
Toxin Index
Custom
Live Spiders
Educational
Spiders
Kits
Feeder Insect
Flies
Custom Services
Bioassay
Embryology
Silk
Tissues
Inquire
Contact
Inquiries
Suggestions
Wanted
Try our new Online Shop
This site is being revised and
updated. Expect broken links and empty pages for next few days and contact us by
phone or email if you cannot find what you are looking for.
| |
Finding Spiders
|
Spiders can be found almost anywhere, using
a wide variety of methods. During the day, you will be able to find some
kinds of web weavers, jumping spiders and many day-active wolf spiders
without difficulty. Many others can be found by searching at night with a
headlamp. Traps, nets and other devices can be used
to harvest large numbers of spiders rapidly, though you might not learn as
much as when you find them by eye. Pitfall traps can be made from large jars
or plastic jugs buried in the ground. Sweep nets are like regular insect
nets but with heavier rims and thick, durable cloth. These nets are swung
through vegetation, capturing spiders and insects which fall off. Large
trash cans work almost as well.
Spiders can be harvested from soil, leaf litter, bark and
other debris by spreading the debris or hardware cloth or screen and
allowing the spiders to fall through into a bucket or pan. |
Preserving Spiders
|
Spiders are generally preserved in 70-75%
(v/v) alcohol, with a little glycerin. The glycerin will keep them soft if
the alcohol dried out. These can be kept in screw-cap vials with secure
plastic cone seals, in cotton-stopped vials stored in larger containers in
alcohol or in sealed plastic bags, preferably stored in larger containers of
alcohol with good seals. |
Labeling
|
Specimens should be labeled with
the collector's name, date, locality and other pertinent information, such
as sex (if known) and habitat. You may also want to include a specimen
number, which is also recorded in your notebook or computer records.The
labels should be placed in the vial with the specimen. Labels should be
written on a thick card stock, which does not fall apart in alcohol and
written with a permanent black india ink or pencil. Laser printers are
frequently used, though some inks may not be very stable to alcohol. |
Keeping captive spiders
|
Spiders are fascinating and it is always
tempting (at least for spider lovers) to bring home everything you find so
you can watch it or just have it. Unfortunately, most of these spiders die
miserable deaths from starvation and/or dehydration. It is never a good idea
to bring home anything until you know that you will be able to provide it
with a suitable habitat and will have enough time and food to care for it.
It is best if you can spend at least some time studying the
spider in nature, to get some idea of the habitat, its behavior and what
kind of space and substrate it needs. Do internet searches and check the
literature to find out what others have done with similar animals and spend
some time and attention to details before you bring in the spiders.
|
Containers for live spiders
|
A wide variety of containers can be used to
house spiders, from small vials to soda bottles, milk jugs, trash cans and 5
gallon paint pails. You can get plastic or glass aquaria and terrariums from
pet shops and a container can be made around just about anything with a bit
of shrink-wrap plastic, a shrink-wrap sealer and heat gun. A wide variety of
containers can also be made with Plexiglas, but it helps to know someone
with a table saw to cut the stuff. |
Feeding spiders
|
In most cases, it is best to maintain
colonies of insects to feed your spiders unless there are special
requirements and you have time to catch insects. However, it can be much
more interesting to feed spiders with fresh, wild-caught prey, to see a much
wider variety of behaviors and discover new things about spiders and
insects. We like to use fruit flies and houseflies
to feed most of our spiders. We usually give them the maggots and the
spiders will take the maggots, pupae and/or adult flies. Larger spiders are
fed with waxworms and/or crickets. |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
