It kind of looks like a miniature tarantula becuase it's fuzzy. It is about the size of a dime (including legs) and is black with white stripes on it's legs. it also has white spots on it's abdomen.
How can I tell if it's a boy or girl and how can I find out what kind it is?
2007-03-13 11:17:16 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Okay well I found out that my current spider is a Daring Jumping Spider. Haven't seen him/her jump yet though.
:)
2007-03-13 11:31:28 · update #1
As a general rule, females have larger abdomens than males. Of course, this helps most when you've seen both males and females so you have some idea of the difference..
So, you figure it's Phidippus audax? It should have a large blocky 'head' and a sort of tear-drop-shaped abdomen. The abdomen should have 1 larger, triangular white spot and a couple smaller spots, right? If the abdomen is maybe a bit bigger and longer than the 'head', it's probably a female. If the abdomen is as thin as, or thinner than, the 'head', and maybe a bit shorter, then it's probably a male. It's probably pretty hungry right now since it's come out from its winter rest, so try feeding it some soft-bodied insects like flies. Jumping spiders are pretty cool, but I've never kept one as a pet. They have very good eyesight for spiders - you'll see it watching things near it with those 2 big eyes on the front of its head.
2007-03-13 13:20:50 · answer #1 · answered by John R 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Males have large pedipalps (modified mouth parts) and females have insignificant pedipalps. The male uses the pedipapls to deposit sperm on and then inserts the pedipalps into the female to transfer the sperm. That's the easiest way to tell.
An earlier answerer also mentioned the size of the spider. In most cases it's true the female is bigger but you would have to have both sexes available to see which is bigger.
2007-03-13 12:06:11 · answer #2 · answered by lightening rod 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Aren't a lot of girl spiders supposedly bigger? Might research into that to see if you can find what species it is and what the average gender sizes are (if that species has a difference).
Either that...of find it potential mates, see what it does...if it eats the other (is a her) or is the one eaten (is a him)...
P.S. I wondered if that was what it was...not huge on spiders but them I like. : )
2007-03-13 11:27:13 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If it bites you...and then lays eggs in the wound that then hatch, and the baby spiders eat you from the inside out, then it's a female.
If it bites you...and then rolls over and falls asleep, then...
2007-03-13 11:26:27 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The one on top is the male
2007-03-13 11:29:08 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋