1st trip of '07: Successful!

KUJordan

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 22, 2005
Messages
344
I decided to step out to my favorite spot south of Fredonia, KS this past sunday. It had been raining all weekend and was very damp everywhere. It was ~68degF when I went to the spot.

I only flipped around 25 rocks, but with much more success than I have ever had there this early in the spring. The 3rd rock I flipped yielded this young beauty:



A few rocks later I flipped a gigantic (~6-7") S. h. castanieceps! These guys don't sit for long at all when their cover is lifted, so I didn't get any pics of either of the two S.h.c's I found this trip. I wasn't looking to collect them either.

Next was a promising rock that yielded this very large S. polymorpha, which was one of two large ones for the trip:



Under this same rock was this large (3") spider (thinking Dolomedes sp.):



Also, under this exact same rock, was this beautiful (but very angry) P. emoryi (great plains ratsnake):











I've never seen a g.p.r at this spot before, so I was pretty stoked. I then found this male C. vittatus, which turned out to be one of very many:



I also flipped a few pieces of treebark that was laying on the ground and found this beautiful juvie L. mactans:

and this crazy Thomisidae?


I also saw this crazy goofy dog running around in the water. Funny, I didn't know boxers liked water this much...!


And the last find of the day was this little flathead snake, Tantilla gracilis, and I do mean little:




thanks for lookin'!
 

gunslinger

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 6, 2006
Messages
356
Ok now its getting crazy! I never would have thought all of these things from Kansas in such a short span. SHows what i know. I mean what is this 4 threads of me dying of jealousy now :D Especially that uber nice Dolomedes.

Keep the goods coming, its like I get a vacation every time!
 

galeogirl

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 15, 2002
Messages
1,198
Awesome finds! I need to strong-arm someone into going out buggin' with me, preferably someone who's better with a camera than I am.
 

KUJordan

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 22, 2005
Messages
344
did you catch any of the c. vittatus:}

No, I have a nice colony at home and they are a dime a dozen all over Kansas. There are a few places I know of that you find more C. vittatus than you do any insect! You find them by the dozens.

Why? Do you want some?
 

brandontmyers

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Messages
841
yeah i would love some....haha...i know they occur towards the mountains of NC, but its not a given they are there because they are introduced, but if you have some time and wanna grab me some let me know...haha
 

Dorcus

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 30, 2004
Messages
111
Nice finds... Wish there were some here in NJ as well... ^^
 
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