Aphonopelma hentzi Burrow Study

[NMTs]

I came across this article about research being done on A. hentzi burrows in southern Colorado. Not many details about the actual findings, but there's some interesting info. Seems those big ol' brown spiders are important critters, indeed...

I lure tarantulas from their burrows (for science)

Entomologist Jackie Billotte reconstructs the burrows and housekeeping habits of tarantulas, which help to keep insect and rodent populations under control in southeastern Colorado.

www.nature.com

 

[winter]

This reminds me of videos I've seen where they use molten aluminum to make casts of ant nests/hills.

 

[NMTs]

This reminds me of videos I've seen where they use molten aluminum to make casts of ant nests/hills.

Yes, seen those too. They're a tad bit more complex than a tarantula burrow.

What I think is really interesting about this article is how shallow the burrows are considering the location. In that part of the country low temps in the winter get REALLY low - like regularly double digits below zero. A burrow that is only 60cm (24") deep doesn't seem like it would be below the frost line, but either way it shows how tolerant of low temps some of the species can be.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

There was someone on this site that did this exact thing and posted pictures of the dug up plaster cast several years ago. I can’t remember who it was, when the post was made, or where the location of the tarantulas were (I think southern Colorado, same as in this article), but I had the foresight to save the images to my computer before the thread was lost. The metadata on the saved images on my computer shows I saved them in September of 2014 though.

Seeing the structure of a perfectly cast A. hentzi burrow is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Hopefully we will all get to see the results of this research at some point in the near future.

 

[fatich]

There was someone on this site that did this exact thing and posted pictures of the dug up plaster cast several years ago. I can’t remember who it was, when the post was made, or where the location of the tarantulas were (I think southern Colorado, same as in this article), but I had the foresight to save the images to my computer before the thread was lost. The metadata on the saved images on my computer shows I saved them in September of 2014 though.

Seeing the structure of a perfectly cast A. hentzi burrow is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Hopefully we will all get to see the results of this research at some point in the near future.

I think you're talking about this thread.

Got to see some hentzi mate in the wild and a lot more!

A little bit about my trip. I moved recently from Oregon (land of no tarantulas) to Colorado. After hearing rumors of mass migrations of mms starting in mid Sept I decided to investigate! I headed out a bit south and east of my location here in Colorado Springs, and once I started seeing areas...

arachnoboards.com

 

[thedragonslapper]

Neat to see a cast of a T burrow straight outta nature.

 

[Wolfram1]

There was someone on this site that did this exact thing and posted pictures of the dug up plaster cast several years ago. I can’t remember who it was, when the post was made, or where the location of the tarantulas were (I think southern Colorado, same as in this article), but I had the foresight to save the images to my computer before the thread was lost. The metadata on the saved images on my computer shows I saved them in September of 2014 though.

Seeing the structure of a perfectly cast A. hentzi burrow is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Hopefully we will all get to see the results of this research at some point in the near future.

is there any way to repost them? or would that go against your own rules?

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

I think you're talking about this thread.

Got to see some hentzi mate in the wild and a lot more!

A little bit about my trip. I moved recently from Oregon (land of no tarantulas) to Colorado. After hearing rumors of mass migrations of mms starting in mid Sept I decided to investigate! I headed out a bit south and east of my location here in Colorado Springs, and once I started seeing areas...

arachnoboards.com

That is the one! Awesome that you found it and all of the pictures are still there.