Lost an eight-legged resident from my yard

[Andee]

So I take good care of the spiders in my yard. I have a couple favorites, but my current this year has been a Callobius bennetti, also known as a Hacklemesh Weaver (though there are like three spiders with this name), she was a wonderful constant to have when I checked on the plants in the morning. She had made her home in my young apple tree (shared it with a couple dwarf species of spiders but her web territory was small). Well tonight I realized she had spun a egg sac, as I was watering the apple tree. I was looking for her and checked all over her web, and especially her hiding funnel. I found her completely dead and ants covering her body. Which is weird because she had been living fine with the ants, but I realized the ants had started harvesting aphids on my apple tree again and so likely killed her when they were moving them and she became an issue... *sighs* I am more sad I realize than I should be. But I will find a new one to take her place in my heart later. For now I have carefully extracted her egg sac (I have no idea how old it is). I have it in one of my larger deli cups, since they can hold several hundred slings at once, but this species is semi communal in a way that in the first week or so they are fine with each other and then they start getting territorial. So I have a bit to enjoy them, maybe choose a few of my favorites to possibly keep and send to someone I know will love them to bits. And then I will release a lot of them with a good headstart <3

 

[kinyonga]

I had a spider that would come and visit me at the same time every night. Don't know what kind it was...but after a few weeks it didn't come anymore. I don't know what happened to it but I missed it's visits.

Sorry you lost yours too.

 

[Beelinn]

I thought I was the only one. I have a resident jumper spider that lives in the house. He wanders all along the ceiling and up by the crown moulding. I get a kick out of seeing the thing all over the house. There's a garden spider outside that I've watched grow up, and I admire it's intricate webs. I also have a resident house centipede that lives in my basement. He's super creepy, but I know he's got my back if any crickets get out!

 

[Andee]

Yeah I agree house centipedes are creepy bit amazing hunters. They are good at their job. I think there are a few of us, who enjoy not only keeping insects but also the wild ones. I take care of my backyard spiders. If I have noticed their weds have been empty a bit more than 5 days I will drop a small nymph in the to keep them going. If we are having a super dry year I will lightly mist their webbing if I pass by.

 

[kinyonga]

I have several house centipedes...they move so fast they scare me! I'm not going to get rid of them though. Maybe that's what happened to the spider.
I've had Daring Jumping Spiders too.

 

[Andee]

Actually house centipedes aren't that likely to eat spiders, though it is possible, your jumping spiders are more likely to have eaten her. Also depending on her species she may have had babies and she may have been a matriphagous species.

 

[kinyonga]

Could be. The centipede is at least an inch long though.

 

[Beelinn]

I doubt a house centipede would attack a jumper spider. However, I did read that they are natural predators of Brown Recluse spiders! :-D

 

[Andee]

Jumping spiders are huge predators of other spiders