Hi Kevin,

Could you tell me a bit more about where and how I send spider samples?

Ilona

A good question. I've received a few while here in the States, but I return to Germany on Monday, which is not especially practical. It's possible that John Sloan might be interested (if he's reading along). Otherwise, in Wisconsin, you might check with the Insect Diagnostic Lab in Madison: http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/entodiag.html. Perhaps contact them first by e-mail and let them know that you have images and specimens of mature males (for example) and would like to know if they have someone who is willing to do the species determination.

Follow their directions for soft-bodied insects. I like to use ice-cold rubbing alcohol (isopropanol, 70%) as it shuts down the spider's sensory systems almost immediately. Store the specimen for a day or two (pill vial, film cannister, etc.), then drain off most of the alcohol for shipping and add cotton balls to fill in the space. Place pill vial or cannister in a sealable baggie, along with some paper toweling or tissue to absorb any leaks -- taping the cap around the perimeter with scotch tape is also a good idea -- and place in a suitable shipping container or padded envelope. Be sure to include details of location, date, etc., preferably pencil on paper in the vial with the specimen.

It is possible your local Lab may not have time to do more than a family/genus identification, in which case the photos should suffice. Hope that helps. My hope is that if we can start doing a few more genital determinations of species, that we can develop some "verified" reference images of known species, which will make the "it looks like" process that much easier.

-Kevin