Tegenaria spider exhibiting strange behaviour (calling all spider experts!)

[JingleJoe]

Hello!
Recently I saved a big spider from my shed which is being torn down () to build a new one I think it's a female Tegenaria gigantea; But I've noticed it is doing something ... strange.
It's making little blobs of web in it's web. (I'm 99% certain they aren't egg sacks!)
In it's original web in my shed it had 2 or 3 of them, it started making it's second one in it's new home today.
They look like egg sacks, but are just blobs of web and I don't think they have insects wrapped up inside.
Some of them have bits of sticks and leaves woven into them. If I didn't know better I'd say it was decorating it's web

I've seen the same kind of thing in a few other spider's webs of the same species (Tegenaria) but don't know what it is!

Recently It had a large meal (a huge blue bottle fly) so I thought perhaps it was getting rid of excess web?

Can anyone tell me what it's doing and why?

[Kayleigh]

Hi JingleJoe and welcome to WAB..
Can you get a pic of the spider and web..I can't help but there will be spider experts along soon.

[JingleJoe]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

Can you get a pic of the spider and web

Yes
Here are links to the photos on photobucket:
A shot from above (can't see the spider here but you can see the web-blobs better ... and a woodlouse!)

A close shot

A slightly wider shot




P.S. My spider's new(ish) home is a huge bottle measuring over 30cm tall and 20cm wide, it's previous web was scarcely bigger than 20cm accross.
I think I have a photo of the bottle somewhere ... here! It's kept in a dark corner in amongst my bottle collection (had to use the flash in that photo but made sure spider was facing the other way so as not to blind it!) and for the photos above I moved the bottle to a lighter spot near my window.

P.P.S. The photo of the whle bottle was taken before it made the second web blob

[Venger]

To be honest they sound like egg sacs, though I'd need to see photos of the spider, web, and 'objects'.
Tegenaria are very tidy spiders, they'll remove old husks (from meals) and deposit them off the web (usually in the same area).
With Tegenaria spp the older the web, the larger the web - so it can be quite thick in places - (but very tidy).
Where abouts on the web were the objects seen, near the funnel (collar)?

[JingleJoe]

Venger, use those 8 eyes to look more closely there are photographs linked above^

[Venger]

Ah I see you replied that same time as I did, which is why I didn't see them when I posted that reply .
Quick note - if you don't host your pictures on WAB your thread will be removed (it's not hard to do - just upload them to the archive either in 'forum images' or 'unidentified images')

They are egg sacs by the way - it's definitely a Tegenaria spp but you can't tell which species without microscopy.
Once they hatch it's easier to keep them together for a couple of months until only the larger ones are left (you can then set them free)

[JingleJoe]

Ah thankyou, it's strange, nothing seems to have ever hatched from the one's that were in the shed, but we will see about these ones!

I don't mind if it's removed now I know what I needed to! Thankyou



If they do hatch will the young spider's bother thier mother atall? I heard some spiders eat thier own mum O.o

[Venger]

It depends if they hatch at all.
Usually the egg sacs are created between November to March and usually hatch around July time. So these may do nothing.
They wont feed on mum, they'll start out by consuming their eggs first.

You should transfer them over to WAB - it helps make a good resource for others looking

[JingleJoe]

Thanks for all the helpful info
And okay I'll transfare them over in a moment

Just went to check on her and she's in the process of attaching bits of dead plant to the newest sac, for extra protection I would presume?

[Venger]

Yeah, they can end up quite messy