# Did some T hunting today



## z32upgrader (Jul 7, 2013)

Hi all,
Where I live there are plenty of wild A. chalcodes like Ts living naturally by a big lake, so I decided to see if I could lure a few of the ladies out of their burrows.  I was successful with one adorable little girl which measured approximately 3" DLS.  Just a bit of water was necessary to encourage her to the top so I could get a small stick behind her butt to get her the rest of the way up.  Enjoy the pictures of the wild Ts I call neighbors. This little one was very sweet and cooperative once I got her out for pictures.  I put her right back when I was done of course.

Reactions: Like 19


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## PeaceBee (Jul 7, 2013)

Cute!  I've been meaning to go critter hunting out here for a while now   I enjoy watching them in their natural habitat!


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## Marijan2 (Jul 7, 2013)

She's gorgeous. And now i'm sad there aren't too many aphos in the europe


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## Hersh77tess (Jul 8, 2013)

Love the blonde Aphonopelmas. Beautiful t! I'm jealous!


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## telepatella (Jul 8, 2013)

I feel grateful that I live in tarantula territory. I feel sad for our fellows who live in Germany and England - Europe in general. Then I realize they can get to Africa and beyond by car and ferry and _I_ feel jealous. I have found the turrets of the A. mojave and an uncountable mass of Iodious burrows in Mojave; my 8 year old son and I took a road trip to Tuscon last summer and - as a requested service - cleaned out the yard where we were staying, got some A. chalcodes. We have the Aphonopelma Iodious and Reversum here in San Diego- brown, black, tan and furry... love it. If ever in town, look me up. Paul

Reactions: Like 2


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## MarkmD (Jul 8, 2013)

She's gorgeous nice find.


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## Ziolizard (Jul 8, 2013)

What a doll face. =) We have tarantulas here in California, but I only see them by the thousands when they migrate.


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## goodoldneon (Jul 8, 2013)

Ahhh, where's the coco fiber?

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Will240393 (Jul 8, 2013)

What a beauty!!


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## Smokehound714 (Jul 8, 2013)

gotta love aphonopelma!


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## JZC (Jul 8, 2013)

Smokehound714 said:


> gotta love aphonopelma!


True that! They are rapidly becoming one of my favorite genera. Just need to get my hands on an adult female chalcodes.


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## Marijan2 (Jul 9, 2013)

goodoldneon said:


> Ahhh, where's the coco fiber?


i don't think you can find any coco fibr in the wild


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## Smokehound714 (Jul 9, 2013)

I personally hate coco fiber.  It looks like a golem ate a bunch of hair and took a dump.  


  You will never unsee.

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## z32upgrader (Jul 12, 2013)

Did some more T hunting today and lured out this beauty.  She was around 6" and just as calm and docile as the one at the top of this page.  I thought it was interesting how much darker her carapace was and redder her legs were compared to the other one I found of the same species only a hundred yards away.

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## Godly (Jul 12, 2013)

Wow man those are really pretty!! Super jealous wish I could go out and find T's.


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## buddah4207 (Jul 13, 2013)

The larger one looks to have recently molted. She is a real beauty, I have wanted one just like her for a while. Your lucky to have such awesome Ts just right outside. And your pictures are great keep them coming.

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## jsmalley93 (Jul 14, 2013)

That's awesome man. I wish I could have been there with you. T hunting is a great adventure. Can't wait to do some when we go to the convention.

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## z32upgrader (Jul 20, 2013)

I found this little 3.5" darling right outside my front door a couple nights ago wandering aimlessly, probably driven from her burrow by the heavy rains that have been sweeping across Arizona the last week, and thought about giving her a home with me.


She's pretty calm when handled, but when in the temporary shoe-box enclosure I made for her she's extremely skittish, jumping and running around at the slightest touch and even kicking hairs.  So I decided to release her back into the wild, but with a fighting chance against her predators.  In a protected area, I dug a "burrow" with the spike of a pickaxe that's about 10" deep, tamped down the dirt around the hole and used a bit of water to pack down and reinforce the walls.  I let it dry for a day and introduced her to it this morning.  She took to it immediately.  She explored its depths, laying silk everywhere.  I walked around in the empty field near my place and found a cricket under a plank of wood and offered it to her by just tossing the cricket near the entrance where she was waiting and immediately took the cricket.  I'm so happy I was able to safely return her to the wild.  I know where the hole is so I can visit her whenever I want.
Here she is in her pre-made burrow finishing the cricket(note the rectangular shape due to the pickaxe):


I'll be excited if she's still there tomorrow and has expanded her burrow.  I'll post pictures of that if anyone's interested.

Reactions: Like 5


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## z32upgrader (Jul 20, 2013)

Well, it was not to be.  I went out to dinner and when I returned, the hole was empty.  She's moved on.  I must not be as good a burrow builder as I thought.  At least she got a meal out of the deal.

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## famish (Jul 20, 2013)

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

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## Will240393 (Jul 21, 2013)

Well you tried you're best, hopefully she's in her own constructed burrow by now.

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## captmarga (Jul 22, 2013)

Well, she appreciated the overnight motel room, but it's just not home.  No pretty curtains, no touches of her own place.  If you come across a few males (confirm seeing several, please) I would love a MM.  Would be great if you could find one leaving a lady's place!   

Marga

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## z32upgrader (Sep 22, 2013)

Well, I just got home from an unsuccessful herping trip in southern Arizona, and I mean 30 miles north of the border, southern Arizona, and ran across this MM Aphonopelma whoknowswhattheheckthisisi.  He looks like the chalcodes that are quite common in Tucson but he was much smaller only about 4" and and as you can see, not a single golden lock.  Anybody got a clue?  We saw two others the same approximate size, so he doesn't seem to be just an unusually small male.

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## Kazaam (Sep 22, 2013)

I'm going to cry myself to sleep after seeing these pictures as there aren't any tarantulas native to the netherlands.


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## Loptylop (Sep 22, 2013)

So jealous I wish i could go hunting T's, my place is so boring, everything has to be from the store


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## z32upgrader (Jul 2, 2014)

It's been a while, but I was able to get out today and check on the local population, and found four nice burrows occupied by four lovely Aphonopelmas.  We finally got some rain today (Prescott, AZ had its third driest first half of the year on record, .97" of rain since Jan 1st) and suddenly, burrows were opening up all over the place!  I walked a short section of the trail, only 1/4 mile and easily located them.  I have a MM of the species I collected as a penultimate last summer who I intend to introduce to the females for breeding.  For now, enjoy the pictures of the wild Ts in their natural habitat!
How the burrows look undisturbed:


A large curious female I presume:


Short video of the same female investigating my iPod as I filmed:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fctcol27lb1qkxj/Video Jul 01, 10 53 08 PM.mov

*Edit*
I just came back with my little buddy and a successful pairing with the above wild female.  I got it all on video, as well as pictures that I'll share here:


My first pairing and it was so exhilarating!  I'll be taking him out a few more times to a few more females I discovered before setting him free to do it on his own.

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## cold blood (Jul 2, 2014)

z32upgrader said:


> It's been a while, but I was able to get out today and check on the local population, and found four nice burrows occupied by four lovely Aphonopelmas.  We finally got some rain today (Prescott, AZ had its third driest first half of the year on record, .97" of rain since Jan 1st) and suddenly, burrows were opening up all over the place!  I walked a short section of the trail, only 1/4 mile and easily located them.  I have a MM of the species I collected as a penultimate last summer who I intend to introduce to the females for breeding.  For now, enjoy the pictures of the wild Ts in their natural habitat!
> How the burrows look undisturbed:
> View attachment 128016
> 
> ...



That's awesome!  Great idea with the pairing in the wild, a rare instance where taking a male from the wild may prove to be more productive than if you left him.


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## JZC (Jul 2, 2014)

Damn that's awesome, I wish I could go into my backyard (practically) and find Ts.


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## z32upgrader (Jul 3, 2014)

This beauty was just hanging out in the open last night. I looked around her for signs of her burrow, but couldn't find anything.  I gave her a cricket I found nearby and she pounced on it with ferocity I haven't ever seen from an Aphonopelma.  I came back to the spot where I found her thirty minutes later, but she was gone.


Chowing down on a wild cricket:

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## z32upgrader (Jul 8, 2014)

I went out again last night but none of the girls were receptive to my MM.  I got some great shots though!
Here's Ricky, my mature male:



The same female from last year, post #14:




Another beauty I'll try breeding Ricky with soon:

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## PeaceBee (Jul 10, 2014)

Beautiful pictures as always, my friend!  So far, the most I have been lucky enough to find have been the burrows I came across at the Grand Canyon.  Next time you're out here, let's head out to Fountain Hills and have a look around!

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## Curious jay (Jul 10, 2014)

Great thread, I do a similar reintroduction thing with all my native trues that turn out male, always good to know you're doing your bit to continue the preservation of these beautiful misunderstood animals.

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## Zigana (Jul 10, 2014)

What time of night do you hunt for tarantulas? I find wild ones in my area during the day and evening. I have a native mature male A. Hentzi Oklahoma Brown. I'm wanting to find a female so thought of searching after dark. Any tips on how this is done and what to look for would be helpful too. Thanks! 

Pic of male (max) minus a leg and pedipalp.


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## z32upgrader (Jul 11, 2014)

Zigana said:


> What time of night do you hunt for tarantulas? I find wild ones in my area during the day and evening. I have a native mature male A. Hentzi Oklahoma Brown. I'm wanting to find a female so thought of searching after dark. Any tips on how this is done and what to look for would be helpful too. Thanks!
> 
> Pic of male (max) minus a leg and pedipalp.


Time of day doesn't really matter, and it doesn't even have to be dark.  I've gotten Ts to come out of their burrows in the middle of the day.  I go around 9:00 PM and find them completely out of the burrow, at the entrance or at the bottom.  I usually come home after midnight, because there are about a dozen different burrows I visit with Ts of all different sizes.  I've found lots of juveniles from 1.5" to 4" and so far know of three big females that are at least 5.5".  I've successfully paired him with two of the three as of last night.  Good luck with your breeding project!  The girls keep trying to kill mine.

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## Zigana (Jul 11, 2014)

z32upgrader said:


> Time of day doesn't really matter, and it doesn't even have to be dark.  I've gotten Ts to come out of their burrows in the middle of the day.  I go around 9:00 PM and find them completely out of the burrow, at the entrance or at the bottom.  I usually come home after midnight, because there are about a dozen different burrows I visit with Ts of all different sizes.  I've found lots of juveniles from 1.5" to 4" and so far know of three big females that are at least 5.5".  I've successfully paired him with two of the three as of last night.  Good luck with your breeding project!  The girls keep trying to kill mine.


Thanks for the information. I probably won't have Max breeding any females due to his loss of a leg and pedipalp. He gets around ok but he isn't very graceful or strong legged standing up right during a full threat pose like when I found him. To stand up he puts his two back legs off to the same side, awkward I would think. Anyway a female would most likely end his life with not much effort so I will just have him live out his days in my home. He seems to be settling in, no more hair kicking, very little climbing and enjoys his meals.


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## z32upgrader (Jul 14, 2014)

Hey all,
Thanks for your kind words and support.  Ricky made a sperm web this morning, so he and I went out tonight and he hooked up with the third big female with great success.  She didn't even try to kill him when they were done. 



Here she is looking pleased as peaches after doing the deed:



Having fulfilled his biological imperative, it was time for me to hold up my end of the deal and set him free.  It's not easy walking away from a tarantula you've loved and cared for for almost a year and had adventures with, but I did it.  Good luck little buddy and have fun being a wild thing again!  I'll miss you.:cry:

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## Zigana (Jul 14, 2014)

Beautiful photos and tarantulas! Glad it all went well. Sorry to hear you had to let him go but glad you kept your end of the deal. 

I found a male last night but no females.


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## z32upgrader (Jul 21, 2014)

I resumed the hunt last night and discovered four more T burrows, all little ones.  Here are some of the best shots:





Chomping on a hopper, which looks less-than-pleased



A baby king snake slithered by as well.  It was approximately 18".



And the smallest baby T I've ever seen out here, maybe 1.75":

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## TarantulasWorld (Jul 21, 2014)

Simply awesome. I wish I did not live deep in suburbia I would love to add some wild caught T's to my collection

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## hairbug66 (Jul 22, 2014)

Smokehound714 said:


> I personally hate coco fiber.  It looks like a golem ate a bunch of hair and took a dump.
> 
> 
> You will never unsee.





z32upgrader said:


> Did some more T hunting today and lured out this beauty.  She was around 6" and just as calm and docile as the one at the top of this page.  I thought it was interesting how much darker her carapace was and redder her legs were compared to the other one I found of the same species only a hundred yards away.
> View attachment 118645


Wow! Gorgeous specimen! Looks remarkably similar to one I collected in west Texas about ten days ago. The femurs are dark like yours, but the legs are darker almost a greenish brown. No red on the abdomen yet but who knows what future molts might bring, as mine is still quite small compared to yours at about 2-2.5". Mine was ID'd by Dr. Hendrixson as an Aphonopelma armada. The carapace is also quite similar in color. Either way a beauty for sure!

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## Poec54 (Jul 22, 2014)

Geez, I'm you got me wanting to move to Arizona.

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## pyro fiend (Jul 22, 2014)

lol heard that poec. iv tickled many a hentzi out of holes.. but now i feel the need to find a sling-juvie raise it. if male do the same. if female. set most of the babies free once hit 1-2"

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## Ghost Dragon (Jul 22, 2014)

Poec54 said:


> Geez, I'm you got me wanting to move to Arizona.


Ditto!  Looking to maybe spend Jan-Apr there when I retire.  Is that a good time to hunt these cute little things?


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## z32upgrader (Jul 22, 2014)

Ghost Dragon said:


> Ditto!  Looking to maybe spend Jan-Apr there when I retire.  Is that a good time to hunt these cute little things?


Unfortunately, that's the worst time of year to hunt for Ts.  In Prescott, we're at 5,000 ft elevation and often have snow on the ground that time of year.  Overnight lows are usually around 20°F or colder.  The south-central part of the state is below 3,000 ft, but all the Ts are holed up until the monsoon brings rain, which doesn't usually happen until late June.

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## z32upgrader (Jul 31, 2014)

Just a quick update,
Ricky had great success breeding with three big females, and I put together this video of him breeding.  This was shown this past weekend at the ATS Conference in Tucson!:biggrin:
Enjoy, and subscribe if you like.
Thanks!
[YOUTUBE]?v=3aCA_ClN3fw[/YOUTUBE]

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## Rayenicole (Aug 1, 2014)

z32upgrader said:


> Just a quick update,
> Ricky had great success breeding with three big females, and I put together this video of him breeding.  This was shown this past weekend at the ATS Conference in Tucson!:biggrin:
> Enjoy, and subscribe if you like.
> Thanks!
> [YOUTUBE]?v=3aCA_ClN3fw[/YOUTUBE]


I just watched your video and it was amazing! I really enjoyed the entire clip, it was especially entertaining when you told the aggressive female to "Go back home!"!
You have inspired my fiancé and I to acquire a MM Aphonopelma of our own and perhaps do the same as you.
Keep up the great work and please make more videos!

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## z32upgrader (Sep 18, 2014)

Did some more T hunting yesterday, but didn't have to go far at all, because I found a burrow right in my backyard! It's a dead giveaway when you see this:



I visited the burrow a bit after sunset, and spotted exactly what I wanted to see, spider toes!



Twirling a piece of grass near the burrow got a very enthusiastic response as the spider chased it all the way out of the burrow, legs and fangs moving in a flurry.



It had run so far from it's burrow chasing my grass "insect", it couldn't find its way back immediately.  I took the opportunity to snap a nice picture:



"He" was searching for his burrow in the wrong direction, so I scooped him up, taking this photo before setting him down at the burrow entrance.



I'm pretty excited to have my very own outdoor pet spider.  I hope he sticks around!

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## klawfran3 (Sep 18, 2014)

Wow! Just read through this whole thread and you all are making me so jealous haha! I hope you keep us updated on your new friend!

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## Ghost Dragon (Sep 19, 2014)

z32upgrader said:


> Did some more T hunting yesterday, but didn't have to go far at all, because I found a burrow right in my backyard! It's a dead giveaway when you see this:
> View attachment 130055
> 
> 
> ...


Wow, he's a handsome fella.  Good on you, too, to help him back to his burrow.  I'm so damn jealous that you can just go out to your backyard for this!  LOL

I keep hoping to find a burrow of the Great Northern Snowshoe Tarantula in MY backyard, but alas, no luck yet. Will have to keep an eye out for the tracks once the snow flies.

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## z32upgrader (Jun 26, 2016)

I've since moved to Oklahoma and am now getting the chance to play with A. hentzi. Austin S., myself, and a friend of his went out yesterday and had a very successful trip in Northern OK.

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## EulersK (Jun 26, 2016)

z32upgrader said:


> I've since moved to Oklahoma and am now getting the chance to play with A. hentzi. Austin S., myself, and a friend of his went out yesterday and had a very successful trip in Northern OK.


I've wanted to go tarantula hunting for ages, and this thread has convinced me that I need to get this done! I live in Las Vegas, so I'm pretty darn close to AZ where you originally started all of this. Do you have any suggestions on getting this done? Things to look for, proximity to water, etc? You three make it seem pretty darn easy, just a matter of finding a hole and going to work.


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## z32upgrader (Jun 26, 2016)

EulersK said:


> I've wanted to go tarantula hunting for ages, and this thread has convinced me that I need to get this done! I live in Las Vegas, so I'm pretty darn close to AZ where you originally started all of this. Do you have any suggestions on getting this done? Things to look for, proximity to water, etc? You three make it seem pretty darn easy, just a matter of finding a hole and going to work.


You'll want to avoid tall grasses and seek out rocky areas with short/sparse vegetation.  Areas around lakes are good places to look.  I've found them near seasonal washes and like in the video, under rocks. 
Prescott is a great place to find chalcodes.  It's at 5,000 ft so it's not as blazing hot as Phoenix is in the summer months.

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## EulersK (Jun 26, 2016)

z32upgrader said:


> You'll want to avoid tall grasses and seek out rocky areas with short/sparse vegetation.  Areas around lakes are good places to look.  I've found them near seasonal washes and like in the video, under rocks.
> Prescott is a great place to find chalcodes.  It's at 5,000 ft so it's not as blazing hot as Phoenix is in the summer months.


Thank you very much, sir! I think I'll try along the base of the mountain towards Lake Mead. Seems like an area very similar to what you're describing.


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## Spidermolt (Jun 26, 2016)

reading and watching everything on this post makes me want to go T hunting in my backyard so wish me luck here in New Jersey... wait... Oh I'm sad now. 

Haha anyways awesome post and you're soo lucky to have ts in your back yard!!!

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## Andy00 (Jun 26, 2016)

EulersK said:


> Thank you very much, sir! I think I'll try along the base of the mountain towards Lake Mead. Seems like an area very similar to what you're describing.


You should consider taking a video while you're there and post it on your YouTube channel. It's really entertaining to watch wild T's.

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## Walker253 (Jun 27, 2016)

I'll be in Sedona for the first 2 weeks of August. Any tips? Any chance on finding anything?


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## z32upgrader (Jun 27, 2016)

Walker253 said:


> I'll be in Sedona for the first 2 weeks of August. Any tips? Any chance on finding anything?


Check out the map section of this scientific paper.  Click clear, zoom in on Sedona and then check the chalcodes, mareki and marxi boxes.  Those pins give precise locations where one was collected for study.  I'd start there.
http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=6264&display_type=list&element_type=6


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## Jon Wayne (Jun 27, 2016)

telepatella said:


> I feel grateful that I live in tarantula territory. I feel sad for our fellows who live in Germany and England - Europe in general. Then I realize they can get to Africa and beyond by car and ferry and _I_ feel jealous. I have found the turrets of the A. mojave and an uncountable mass of Iodious burrows in Mojave; my 8 year old son and I took a road trip to Tuscon last summer and - as a requested service - cleaned out the yard where we were staying, got some A. chalcodes. We have the Aphonopelma Iodious and Reversum here in San Diego- brown, black, tan and furry... love it. If ever in town, look me up. Paul


Hi Paul. I'm Jon. I live inWArd state now. But lived in San Diego as a boy. The aponophelma is my second favorite genus next to avicularia. I visit my family once every other year or so in San Diego. I'm due for a trip soon. I'd love to have you show me the ropes sometime. In the mean time, lol, I have many uncles coming here in August for a wedding, any specimens you'd be willing to sell and have them pick up? You just can't find My other aponophelma other then the seemani around here at all. No stores, no shows, nowhere. Thanks for your time.


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## tetracerus (Jun 27, 2016)

Ahhhh I need to go T hunting. I live near Phoenix. I tried looking around Trail 100 a month ago with little luck -- perhaps wrong time of year or just too busy a trail. A coworker said he spotted several Ts when he was biking near Camelback recently. It's just been too blisteringly hot lately that it's hard to do much outdoors. Apparently 4 people died hiking last weekend in the 118 heat 

I'll report back if I do find any good spots.

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## z32upgrader (Jun 27, 2016)

tetracerus said:


> Ahhhh I need to go T hunting. I live near Phoenix. I tried looking around Trail 100 a month ago with little luck -- perhaps wrong time of year or just too busy a trail. A coworker said he spotted several Ts when he was biking near Camelback recently. It's just been too blisteringly hot lately that it's hard to do much outdoors. Apparently 4 people died hiking last weekend in the 118 heat
> 
> I'll report back if I do find any good spots.


I've heard great things about Fountain Hills.  Give that a look too! @PeaceBee may be able to help. She's in Mesa.

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## PeaceBee (Jun 27, 2016)

Thanks for tagging me, Greg!

@tetracerus, we like to do night hikes on the weekends, and Fountain Hills is definitely a good place.  Specifically, McDowell Mountain Regional Park.  I also know of other good spots around here.  If you'd like to come join us sometime, shoot me a PM and we can coordinate

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## tetracerus (Jun 27, 2016)

PeaceBee said:


> Thanks for tagging me, Greg!
> 
> @tetracerus, we like to do night hikes on the weekends, and Fountain Hills is definitely a good place.  Specifically, McDowell Mountain Regional Park.  I also know of other good spots around here.  If you'd like to come join us sometime, shoot me a PM and we can coordinate


Yes, definitely! I'd love to join you on a hike! Going to send you a PM.

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