Anza Borrego Advice Needed

[jenoi]

Hi everyone,

I have heard that in October in Anza Borrego park, California, there are tarantulas all over the road near the Elephant Trees trail. Does anyone know anything about this? I'm Canadian and we don't have anything like that up here so I'm thinking of making a sidetrip and checking it out on my California adventure I'm planning for next fall. I'd be passing that way on Sept. 28th. Would there be any out yet? Are they out during the day, or only at night? Do I have the location right? What kind are they? Any advice or links would be super appreciated!

Cheers,

 

[josh_r]

i have been hunting our native tarantulas for at least 10 years if not more. i can tell you that there are NO specific localities that they are ONLY found in for most species. most species have HUGE ranges and can be found just about anywhere as long as you are in the right habitat. you can stop on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere in the desert and find tarantulas with ease. if you go down there in september, the males should be wandering during the day and night. females will not be wandering, but in burrows. i also suggest staying away from anza borrego for hunting. you will get busted FAST!

put it this way, you can go just about anywhere in southern california from august to october and find male tarantulas wandering. you can go ANY time of the year and find females and subadults if you know how to look. they are very common and thats just the thing.... you just gotta open your eyes and look. lood luck

-josh

 

[JMoran1097]

Hi everyone,

I have heard that in October in Anza Borrego park, California, there are tarantulas all over the road near the Elephant Trees trail. Does anyone know anything about this? I'm Canadian and we don't have anything like that up here so I'm thinking of making a sidetrip and checking it out on my California adventure I'm planning for next fall. I'd be passing that way on Sept. 28th. Would there be any out yet? Are they out during the day, or only at night? Do I have the location right? What kind are they? Any advice or links would be super appreciated!

Cheers,

there is no specific locality for any certain desert species. hell, when I went just last weekend, I had absolutely no luck and I was searching a good 3 mile area. even the scorpion species, nothing really. it kind of depends on what you stumble across and if you're lucky.

 

[josh_r]

you are not looking for locality or just any desert. you are looking for habitats within the desert that match their requirements, mostly alluvials. some species like rock outcrops, some dont. it also depends on the time of year, temps, moon cycle, and winds. alot comes into play here and it just takes geting out and gaining some experience to learn when to go look. they are out there and they are COMMON in your area.

-josh

 

[cacoseraph]

if you are going to be in the southern california area you might consider dropping scabies (Southern California Arachnid, Bug, Invertebrate, Entomological Society) a line

here is our foreign consulate. in all likelihood someone or ones can meet up with you and go looking for bugs... or show you a place we already know they exist at

http://scabies.myfreeforum.org/forum36.php

 

[josh_r]

AWW!!!! andrews in love!!!

 

[jenoi]

Thanks for the tips

I'm only going to be 'hunting' with my camera, but it doesn't sound like it'll be worth specifically going to Anza Borrego for tarantulas if it's not a hotspot, I'm going to devote that day to photographing the Salton Sea instead.

We will be going through Joshua Tree and Death Valley for the next couple of days after that, so I'll hope for some sightings there. I'm not really familiar with which species I might find in what habitat, I'm just hoping to snap some photos of some spiders and the bigger and hairier the better!

Are there *any* hotspots for sightings in any of the California parks?

 

[josh_r]

there are no 'hot spots'. the entire desert is one big hot spot. they are found throughout the mojave desert and surrounding habitats. you just need to find populations which is really not hard to do. you will LOTS of tarantulas in joshua tree if you know how to find them. you will find just as many outside of joshua tree if you know how to find them. just go out there and have a good time and keep your eyes open! once you find your first T burrow, you will start seeing them all over the place.

 

[jenoi]

If I *know* how to find them...

How do I find them, what should I look for?

 

[josh_r]

look for near perfect holes in the ground with silky white webbing on them. that is the easiest type of burrow to spot.