The collecting methode
how does it come to a collection

Collecting cave spiders calls for a certain knowledge. The following items should be taken on a collecting trip:
 

glass vials with stoppers 70% ethanol a small paint brush a writing pad and pencil an exhaustor

For my own collecting purposes I developed a special leather bag that contains the glass vials; other speleologists prefer to place their collecting vials on the inside of their helmets.

1. If the spider is easily accessible from below it is best to place a vial directly underneath and gently moving it. Most spiders "escape" by dropping straight into the vial.
2. If the spider is not accessible from below, e.g. in the case of linyphiids, it is usually necessary to take a small paint brush  and to entice the spider to climb onto it. Thereafter it can be dropped into the vial.
3. Ground-living spiders can be caught with an exhaustor, using suction from the mouth. Very small ground spiders can be picked up directly with a moist paint brush.

The hand-caught spiders can be killed with 70% ethanol. This is best done outside the cave.

Caution!    Caves are often inhabited by bats. No volatile chemicals should be used inside the cave because they might disturb the bats (especially in winter during their hibernation).

It is advisable to make notes immediately at the catching site and to write the labels for the vials with India ink right after an excursion. These labels are placed directly into the alcohol filled vial. They contain the following data:

cave name country / province / community coordinates altitude precise reference point inside the cave date collector's name

After determination of the spider, the data are transferred to the inventory (data file); the vial is closed with a cotton ball and then submersed into a larger glass with a screw lid, which is also filled with ethanol. This is a precaution against accidental drying out of small vessels.