Latrodectus Hasselti homemade Macro pictures

I used a loop in front of the cam.. guess what, it works! Sortof.. :-p

The spiders are 1mm big, the cricket is a pinhead for size measure.. The twigs are dried up grass.
Containers are pill vials..

Pics incoming

Latrobox double safety

What is actually scary about them is that they capture and kill this size prey themselves.
Imagine what they do when they are 20x this size and adult. They can get 40mm across LS with a 10mm body.

The net is fine nylonwire, used as an aid for them to spin their webs, which they do in about 1 min at this size.

They are mean machines! And yes it was a stupid sight when I took those pictures with a cam one hand and a huge magnifying glass in the other

Nice shots mate, can really tell how tiny those guys are! What do you mean by a loop in front of the camera?

So they change colour quite a bit then? And wow that crick has got to be 3-4x the size of it.

Ah sorry, just saw, magnifying glass! Nice improvisation!

lol yes, thanks. I dont have the equipment so one has to improvise!
It is no real macro either, but well.. they're tiny!

They get to adult stage in 4 months time.... So they are quite nasty to whatever passes them by, as they need the nutrients to feed such a growth..

The cricket is at least 3-4x their body size.. and they are pinheads.. So they need to grow quite a bit more and indeed good observations. They change color with each moult untill completely black with a red line running across their backs and the hourglass on their belly.

This is an adult redback

Nice, they're mean! Be sure to get some pics as they molt and grow, I'd like to see the changes. Wow adult in 4 months, I hear they have a short life span too.

I'd maybe have them triple caged

lol they are, they are within the big box too.

Reason for that is that they can survive our weather rather well and I dont want them around. They have some nice stuff people should know

- males cannot bite through our skin

- males are half as big as females

- males only life about a year, females can live up to 3 even 4 years in captivity

- in Australia, these are what cause most serious invert bites, none of them with a deadly outcome

- females only have to mate once. They store the sperm for a lifetime of egg production. Each sack contains 200+ spiders and they can produce several during their lifetime

- while the spiders are venomous, the sacs itself are poisonous

- it is not the "real" black widow, but a relative.. found only in Australia

- males seldom get eaten by females during or after mating

- they tackle big prey as big as small lizards and frogs if one steps on their tripwires

- they have one of the most, if not the strongest and stickiest silk in animal kingdom

- they rarely attack and usually even give dry bites (female)

- they survive pretty much all weather except freezing colds

- their venom is used as blood thinners for heart surgery

- digestion/ingestion happens completely outside. As with other spiders they dont have masticating (?) teeth. Therefore it bites a hole in the prey and spills enzymes in the hole. The spider sucks this up leaving an empty husk. Different to tarantulas, they leave a hollow husk that is not damaged except for the hole where the spider sucked it dry.

jum jum

- i sell them in 100% tight enclosures with a feeding lid lol, makes for romantic displays in the bedroom!

btw, these come from a very nice and experienced swedish arachnologist. We share and trade spiders among ourselves, for free. It would be nice to see more people do this. It keeps the hobby alive. And yes it is possible on this basis. Thanks Karl

JamieLawrence wrote:

Nice, they're mean! Be sure to get some pics as they molt and grow, I'd like to see the changes. Wow adult in 4 months, I hear they have a short life span too.

I'd maybe have them triple caged

Btw Jamie

They moult every few days now, but the old skin is so small you cant make up much of it.. even with a huge magnifying glass . Will do when they get bigger..

When you dont have the right tools, an easy job can get difficult. Anyway, I said I would post pics if they grew. Well, they grew after their fat meal. They all got a cricket 5x their size. They ate them too, they are well 2x- 3x their original size now (from the first pics)




wonderful invert world

Awesome. These would be a gem in Anyones collection.

If you are a weirdo like me mate, no sain person would keep these as they are very hard to "contain' and probably have one of the worst bites out there.. but thanks, if they breed I put them in a bowl at a forum reunion for everyone to pick one.. barehanded. Don't worrie they cant bite at this size.. i tried. They cant

way too many to keep an eye on..


attack


waiting for cricketsoup to get ready

Nice.

So we are not allowed these right?? How toxic would a bite be then?

It is 4x as venomous as a Parabuthus Transvaalicus,
8x that of Hottentotta Judaicus
2.5x that of a Scolopendra subspinipes bite
15x rattlesnake


In comparison with an LQ only 1/3rd as bad.. its 1:1 with a Tityus S.

When intravenously injected, it is almost as bad as an A. Australis sting
Based on LD50 values.

The amount of venom it releases is really small though, so I guess that makes it bit by bit less severe.

Anyhow, people bitten, do need a long revalidation time and usually underestimate these as they are scared [hopscotch] after a bite.

Scartissue usually is formed (unlike scorpion stings) and contains more components than scorpion venom (since it has digestives and what not mixed into it). Systemic effects are present in 20% of bites. Medical attention usually is advised if chestpains etc occur.
Usually not that bad and there is anti venom.

Even if half of this is true, something to be careful with. If all of these would sting you, it would all feel different, some may hurt more, others may cause more systemic damage, etc etc.. So its just theorycrafting with those lD50 numbers.

In short, size <-> potency it is number 1

This is a fun read
click
much exaggeration I think