This is the actual spider that originally got me so interested in the grossa species. I have had her captive for a few years now and I love to just sit and watch her run around and clean particles from her web, etc. She is sort of a rescue case. I found her in my house huddled up to the baseboard on the ground one night and she seemed sort of banged up. Turns out she was missing two legs. I have had her captive ever since and she is thriving in her little terrarium world. For most cobweb-type spiders, as long as they have both of their back legs they will survive just fine. They need those legs to wrap prey, etc. So even missing legs I & II on one side, she has survived fine. But I guess she doesn't really have to worry about anything preying on her in a terrarium. I introduced her to a male of her species and they have since produced many egg sacs. I call her 'The Queen.'

These pictures of her can help demonstrate how much darker and almost patternless the adult female S. grossa can be when compared to the immatures of the species. The Queen is pretty fat and carrying eggs again, so adults that either haven't mated yet or have recently laid eggs appear smaller of course.