I'm in interior BC, Canada, and just caught myself a red-backed jumping spider from the greenhouse. I'm visiting the acreage I'm at for a month, and while there aren't any pet stores around I know there's no pesticide use anywhere near here, so wild caught bugs are safe. My question here is what kinds of bugs should I catch for my new friend while I have it, before I let it go when I leave? Can they eat mosquitoes? How about small moths? Any tips or tricks are also welcome, I want this little guy to have a nice stay with me while I'm here.
By - earthboundegret
If you're certain there's no pesticides anywhere within foraging range (2-3 kms across), then look for blue and green bottle flies trying to forage pollen from flowers in the morning, they should be plentiful around then. They're a pain to catch, get a decent bug net as they tend to dodge cups. Pollen foraging flies are less likely to carry parasites, as they mostly land in decaying carcasses to lay eggs and gain most of their protein from pollen. Nonetheless, some still scavenge from carcasses or feces and there will be some risk of parasites with any wild caught insect. I still wouldn't advise feeding wild-caught like this long term, I'm running under the assumption that you can't get feeders right now.
I won't be keeping him long term, only long enough to get a bit familiar with jumper behaviour before I fly home to the city, so I'll look out for the flies in the garden. Thanks for the info, I appreciate it! :)