Heteropoda davidbowie

Medium

Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia

4 CM

24-28 °C

Brief description:

Heteropoda davidbowie “David Bowie spider” is a web spider from the family of giant crab spiders (Sparassidae). This species was named after the late British pop musician David Bowie. However, the reason for this is not because the discoverer was a David Bowie fan. Rather, the aim is to draw attention to the extinction of the species. Countless habitats around the world are being destroyed and with them some undiscovered animal species. The name is intended to build a bridge to people who have no connection to insects and spiders in order to raise their awareness.
Females of Heteropoda davidbowie reach a body length of 21.3 to 25.3 millimetres and males 15.3 to 18.2 millimetres. The dorsal side (back) of the female varies between gray and reddish brown and has several spots. The body has short and dense hairs, from which individual longer and bright orange hairs stand out. The legs of the female have lighter areas, which in turn are ringed with dark spots. The orange color of the spiders is almost glowing and immediately catches the eye.

The behavior of Heteropoda davidbowie changes over time. Young animals tend to stay close to the ground at the beginning of their development. There they like to hide under foliage so as not to attract attention. As soon as they reach the development stage FH4, they are confident enough to show themselves openly. They like to remain on pieces of bark and wait for their prey. They are also not squeamish when it comes to feeding and confidently overpower even larger prey.

Heteropoda davidbowie also become bolder when handled by the keeper and tweezers should be used as a precaution.
Both sexes grow at roughly the same rate and you can mate offspring from one cocoon with each other. Around 100-150 young Heteropoda davidbowie then hatch from one cocoon! We keep the spiderlings together until FH3. After that, a certain degree of intra-species aggression develops and they should be separated. We use a mixture of forest humus and Sphagnum moss in a ratio of 3:1 as substrate, on top of which we place a few leaves and a cork bark on the diagonal.

The terrarium size for an adult Heteropoda davidbowie should be at least 20 × 20 × 30 cm. We spray some water into the terrarium every two days to moisturize the animals and feed them weekly. Make sure that uneaten food animals are removed from the terrarium.

Finally, a quote from David Bowie that fits the spider’s name very well:

“I am not a prophet or a stone-age man, just a mortal with the potential of Superman. I live on.”

Products for Heteropoda davidbowie!