# Anza-Borrego Desert 20MAR09



## Noexcuse4you (Mar 21, 2009)

I camped in Anza-Borrego last night.  Invert/Herp activity was pretty low.  It still gets pretty chilly at night even though it was in the 80's during the day.  

I forgot my blacklight so I resorted to flipping and found a couple scorpions under some dead cacti.  Both were small, under 1".  I think they might be Superstitionia donensis.  I e-mailed Zach to confirm.

The tarantula burrows were open, but I couldn't lure them out.  I could feel them tugging at the stick I stuck down in there.  Flooding doesn't work in the desert.  The soil drains too well.

The flowers were spectacular, but still not at their peak.  The wild flowers were in bloom, but the beavertail and barrel cacti were just beginning to bud.  It should be awesome in the next month or so!

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My little campsite.







Sunset



















Sunrise













Tarantula burrows were found all along here.  They like firm soil with a crushed granite top layer.







Tarantula burrow







Scorpion


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## Rick McJimsey (Mar 21, 2009)

Very cool, Kyle. Your ID seems to be pretty good on the scorp.
Any idea what species the T burrow was from?


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## Noexcuse4you (Mar 21, 2009)

Rick McJimsey said:


> Any idea what species the T burrow was from?


Aphonopelma sp. "Plain Brown Tarantula".   I don't know.  They're probably "eutylenum type".


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## Rick McJimsey (Mar 21, 2009)

Noexcuse4you said:


> Aphonopelma sp. "Plain Brown Tarantula".   I don't know.  They're probably "eutylenum type".


The plain brown kinds are the best ones anyways


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## Diggy415 (Mar 21, 2009)

i can't wait for good weather next weekend, last summer i found a big ol T webbing around a sage brush leading under a rock, will see if it's still there i can take a pic and send it on it's way too. I have lots of scorpions out there too.


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## AzJohn (Mar 21, 2009)

The scorpion is S donensis. If it's not it's something very close. I'm not sure about the tarantula burrow. The behavior of pulling on the twig sounds like other spiders we have here. That area looks so much like the foot hills of the Superstition Mts in Arizona. It's amazing that the donensis is found there considering the very diverse environments a great distances that seperate the two populations. Very Cool


John


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## SNAFU (Mar 21, 2009)

Really great pics. The 3rd one looking over the valley with the cactus in the foreground is my fav, :clap:  sure makes me want to dust off the camping gear, drag out my tent, Coleman stove and lanterns!


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## Noexcuse4you (Mar 23, 2009)

Thanks for the comments guys!  The scorpion was confirmed by Zach to be _Superstitionia donensis_.  I'll be heading out to Joshua Tree in a couple weeks so expect some more pics!


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## syndicate (Mar 23, 2009)

Awesome pics Kyle!!I soooo need to get out west!


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## Zach Valois (Mar 23, 2009)

Thanks for sharing Kyle,

 the tarantulas are likely _Aphonopelma iodius_.


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## josh_r (Mar 26, 2009)

nice s. donensis. i had heard they ranged over there, but never have found them there myself. i would put money on A. iodius from the structure of that burrow.


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## Pulk (Mar 29, 2009)

same place, 6 days earlier...


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## arrowhd (Mar 31, 2009)

Very nice habitat photos!


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