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[Tarantula_Hawk]

Alright, i've seen these spiders several times in my garden, always near chopped wood logs. Yesterday i found another one and this time i decided to keep him and give it a try. The first thing i've always thought seeing these was that they belong to the Theridiidae, probably Steatoda sp. or Theridion sp. But thats just my opinion, purely based on his general morphology and on some pictures i looked up in a field guide. The spider is pretty small, body size about 0.5cm (with much of it being taken by the relatively large abdomen), leg span about 1.5cm. Im in Rome, Italy by the way, so its winter and its pretty cold and very rainy outside. These guys seem to be tough.
Anyways here are the pics (they are a bit blurry since i took them with a digital microscope, and the spider wouldnt stop moving):

Hope these pics are enough to give it a general ID.
By the way, if you guys have any tips on its keeping they're welcome. The setup i made for him is very similiar to the ones for Latrodectus sp: a bunch of sticks crossed between each other inside a 30cm high and 10cm wide jar (probably even too big for it). It's been 3 days since i've caught it and he's built a pretty much random web system (just like theridids in general). I still need to try feeding it, but its pretty hard to find a decent prey for it during this time of the year. Im guessing that, since its winter, it can go on without a food source for a while now.

[What]

Definitely a Steatoda sp.

With that set of markings others will probably try to guess, but, I am personally not going to do that. :)

[jsloan]

I still need to try feeding it, but its pretty hard to find a decent prey for it during this time of the year. Im guessing that, since its winter, it can go on without a food source for a while now.

You've brought it inside where it is warmer, so its metabolism will be higher and the spider more active. As far as the spider is concerned, it's not winter any more! You should feed it periodically. As for decent food, even if all you can find is a large fly just kill the fly and put it in the web. The small spider will scavenge on the carcass.

A spider this small might be immature, especially if it is, as What suggested, a Steatoda sp. If so, don't worry about IDing it to species until it becomes an adult.

[Tarantula_Hawk]

Alright, thanks for the tips even though i havent even seen any fly lately here :D. Yep, the fact that it might be an immature did cross my mind, since the other specimen i saw were larger. I'll try and look for something it can eat.

By the way, What, was checking your pictures (nice ones you got there) and noticed a picture of a Steatoda sp. on page 12 that looks exactly the same as this one. Looks like both belong to the same species :D.

[What]

By the way, What, was checking your pictures (nice ones you got there) and noticed a picture of a Steatoda sp. on page 12 that looks exactly the same as this one. Looks like both belong to the same species :D.
Definitely possible; I usually stick to "sp." descriptors on things I find that I would not bet my life on the ID... ;)

[jsloan]

Definitely possible; I usually stick to "sp." descriptors on things I find that I would not bet my life on the ID... ;)

I do, too, for the most part. Many closely-related, but different species look very much alike if you only go by pictures - not to mention the variation in size and coloring that can occur within a single species.

Good pictures on your site, What, BTW. I'm interested in your Steatoda paykulliana pics. Did you take those pictures in the wild, or do you have the spiders in captivity? If the latter, where did you get hold of them in the states?

[What]

Good pictures on your site, What, BTW. I'm interested in your Steatoda paykulliana pics. Did you take those pictures in the wild, or do you have the spiders in captivity? If the latter, where did you get hold of them in the states?

They were in captivity, young produced by buthus that I was raising up.(Though there have been more than a handful of dealers that have sold them from time to time, most recently I believe it was Glades Herp.)

[buthus]

S.grossa female teenager

edit:ahhh! When in Rome! idiot... still..maybe.

[Tarantula_Hawk]

Yea i think you're correct. From the pics i saw around, is looks exactly as a S.grossa juvenile. Thanks :D
Little update: She's built her main web basically. Only problem is that, it keeps on raining here and i really cant find anything that she might eat (there arent even any flies around >.<). It's been a week basically without food, but i dont really think its a problem for her, or is it? If i think about it, in my opinion she wouldn't really be finding that much food supply out in the nature at the moment.

[jsloan]

Little update: She's built her main web basically. Only problem is that, it keeps on raining here and i really cant find anything that she might eat (there arent even any flies around >.<). It's been a week basically without food, but i dont really think its a problem for her, or is it? If i think about it, in my opinion she wouldn't really be finding that much food supply out in the nature at the moment.

She looked fat enough in the pictures to have some inner "reserves" as far as food is concerned. She can stand not to eat for a little while longer. Keep in mind, though, that by bringing her inside you've brought her into a warmer environment, which means a warmer body, which means a higher metabolism, so she will eat more often than if you left her outside. If there is a pet shop nearby, perhaps they have some small crickets or something you could buy for her.

Also, she'll need water from time to time. Wet your fingers and flick a few drops in her container and web. If she's thirsty she'll go over to the drops and sip them up.

[Tarantula_Hawk]

Yep, i do sprinkle water inside from time to time (i use a vaporizer which works pretty well).
About the food, she is indeed in a warmer environment and therefore will have a higher metabolism. Problem is, its still winter for all the bugs outside so its harder to find em:D . I have a pet shop relatively close by, but since its illegal to keep any arachnid in Italy (yay...:wall: ) the only thing they sell are A. domestica the majority of which are either adults or sub-adults (yes you can usually find juveniles but they're few) which are ideal for vertebrates or larger inverts, and are too big for this steatoda.
Guess i'll try to catch something when it stops raining :D

[jsloan]

the only thing they sell are A. domestica the majority of which are either adults or sub-adults (yes you can usually find juveniles but they're few) which are ideal for vertebrates or larger inverts, and are too big for this steatoda.

If the spider has built a web, you can buy and kill one of them, squish it just a bit, and then stick all or part of it in the web. The spider, if hungry, will likely scavenge on the remains. I've done this many times for other small spiders when the appropriately-sized live food wasn't available (it's great for raising slings, too).

[Widowman10]

def try what jsloan said. i have done this when i am lacking- just with tiny widows. pre-kill and hang in their web, most of the time they'll eat it. also, if you have a garage or some colder area, you can try leaving it there to slow it down and mimic it's natural environment a bit.

[buthus]

Grossa will successfully hunt down any size prey that gets cornered in its webbed up space. Hobbling prey is a good thing ...less energy spent for the spider, yet allows the spider to do its thing.
Grossa and others do their rounds... they will usually find any food thts sitting in their web. So... pre-kills work fine... try other house spiders, another grossa or a "cellar spider". You can hobble those a bit and enjoy the show. ...or just let em fight it out ...who knows..maybe you'll end up with a new pet spider everytime! :? :D
I have gotten steatoda and widows to do earthworms and just plain chunks of meat. Most of the time, its not so easy with "meats" ....plus only a small meal can be taken cause they cant liquefy the muscle fiber ...not enough time before dryout. Oh! yeah... I have had a bit of luck with real small guppys.

edit: oh.. if you have to buy something..just get some mealworms ...or supers..they are a bit more nutritious. Hell, with a grossa, one big wax or super worm while kept in "winter" temps would probably be good for a few months or more.