Articles: Duke or Duchess?

For most collectors, acquiring a female spider is important. Why? Yes, because they can live much longer than the male... But, to some other Collector/Breeder, would very much like to have male for breeding purposes. Little that we know, in market, for some specific species, male specimen are difficult to find, which can lead into shortage in that particular species, at lease in captivity. I don’t know why? But maybe because everyone tends to only kept female spider? For keeper, please learn to sex your spider, you want female so much, but don’t even bother to learn how differentiate them, and keep posting “Sex Please/Help Me! /Male or Female? / Dude or Chick? At least try your best to sex them first and seek for confirmation. Come on you guys!!! It’s only either male or female, I hope... (Except human: we have muscular gay, petit lesbian, sexy transsexual, animalistic bisexual, NOTE: gay + gay or etc. can be mated with any specific skills, but will not producing any young-lings...haha). It’s not that hard, there are a few way to sex your specimen, each method may have their own pros and cons.

Exuvia of a 0.1 juvenile
Brachypelma klassi 
(Schmidt & Krause, 1994)

*Exuvia Method

Exuvia or molt skins are the most accurate and most definitive way to sex your tarantula. This method can be use when your spider reaches juvenile or larger stages. This is because; we need to allocate the spermatheca between the anterior book lung, which look like a flap that use to store the sperm deposited by male specimen during mating, the spermatheca is not uniform in shape, they are differ from one species to another. That why we got “Spermatheca Gallery” in Malaysian Tarantula Society FB Group Page. Haaa...Find it! This method only require you to collect the molt skin after the molting process is over, no need to neither handle or disturb the specimen especially the bad-tempered  one. But if it, a New world species, you have a chance to have a taste of Urticating Hair (Been there, done that)…Haha. I would recommend you to make yourself a homemade small 1’x 1’ lighting box for your aid. Open the light and put the Exuvia on the box. It will help you, if the spider is in early stage of juvenile.

*Ventral Method

If your tarantula keeps munching on its molt skin, then the ventral sexing can be done. These refer to inspect of the bottom of the tarantula abdomen, on the area of the Epigastric Furrow which also located between the anterior book lungs. Female tend to have longer curvy Epigastric Furrow while male are shorter and almost a straight line, and the distance between book lung for female is wider than male. This method is not 100% accurate; this is more like comparison method.  You may need certain time of practice, a lot of sexing and a pair of eagle eye or some viewing enhancement tools.

*Dimorphism Method

Sexual Dimorphism can be trace if the spider already in its ultimate molt (Mature male or female) where male can be very differing to female:

Dead Specimen of a 1.0 Psalmopeous irminia

Mating Hooks & Embolus Bulb:

When a male has his ultimate (final) molt and reaches sexual maturity, he will obtain his physical sexual organs. They are Embolus Bulb (some may call it Palpal Bulb, C in the Picture) on the end of his pedipalps that are use to deposit sperm from his sperm web into the female. We usually call it “A pairs of Boxing Glove” in the hobby. Tibial Spur/Tibial Hooks/ Tibial Apophysis or Mating Hooks (A & B in the picture) will be located on both of his bottom side of LEG I’s Tibia (Legs Segment) which are use to hooks up female’s fang during mating. But please note that there are some species which does not acquire mating hooks as it mature. Trivia: Theraphosa blondi don’t have a Mating Hooks, maybe that why they are always cranky...Haha. Some of Avicularia spp does not possess any of Mating hooks, some does, but way too small to notice.

Physical Appearance:

For some specific species or genus, mature females often to have a stockier/larger/heavier/huskier body than the small/thin/undersize mature males. The male’s abdomen is usually smaller and they possessed long leggy legs. Different coloration also occur in some genus or species, for example: Psalmopeous irminia are differ from male and female by coloration, which female are distinguish in color and the male are not.

Sexing a spider can be a lot of fun and pleasurable, why don’t you all give it a try; it’s always surprising to know the sex of your spider, wait for the incoming molt! Get some RM2 magnifying glass or worse, RM XXXX microscope for your aids.  Keeping spiders as pet is not always about having a rare species, but the knowledge and the experience you may obtain from the hobby is what that count. It is PRICELESS!

Now, go do your research and have some fun!

Cheers!