what is it

[neilkane]

hi this spider has supposedly come in from another country via fruit anyone got any clue what it is

[Gigas]

Possibly Steatoda grossa if not i'm certain its some kind of Therid

[neilkane]

i thought possiblee a Latrodectus family???????????? but cant get to it is currently curled up. so cant get good image of both sides

been looking think maybe Steatoda grossa

[Gigas]

Steatoda and Latrodectus genuses are in the family theridae so look very similar.

[neilkane]

yes Steatoda grossa is called false black widow also isnt it. should i keep it ???

[Gigas]

If you wish, the venom is negligible but a guy was recently bitten on the chest about 2 times and this amounted to near a wasp sting. there venom is far from widow strength

[neilkane]

i read it can make u ill and sick. but i read that too about pokies. think i will make it some confy home and keep it. sweet as

[Mary]

If it's female and mated you could have a house full, like me, mine laid 5 sacs form 1 mating. They are interesting to keep, I have a female in a jar.

[neilkane]

sounds cool. it looks kinda swollen up a bit. how do i bst keep this little spider then is it same way as tarantula. or would ir be ok with normal uk temperatures???????humidity etc do these wonder in the uk normlly

[Gigas]

Just keep them in a room that doesn't get freezing, th don't need heat mats though,

[Mary]

Mines in the spider room, I just fed them (mum and a load of slings, in the same jar) with sqaut maggots, mum has one wrapped up and around 10 or so slings are tucking into one also, just all over the maggot.

[Glen Southern]

Keeping them at room temp is fine but hotter is better. 70 plus for breeding. It looks like a Steatoda grossa female but it could be one of the other Steatoda sp. Do you know where it came from geographically? I've had a few mid identifications this year so I've acquired a fair few Steatoda for reference purposes. I've even got a few unidentified ones from the US. I need to let them mature to be sure what they all are. If it turns out to be an S. grossa I have a few males nearing maturity if you fancy a go at breeding although there is a very high probability that she will be fully loaded all ready. Almost all adult specimens I have managed to obtain arrive gravid. Leave her in the dark as mush as possible and you may end up with a fluffy white egg sac suspended in here web very soon. If she is loaded she will pump out a sac every week or so for a while.

[Mary]

Yeah Glen, once they pop they just can't stop :biggrin:

[neilkane]

not sure of location will find out.

my friend told me new zealand.?