instar question

[hermzxd45]

Can anybody tell me what does instar mean?

 

[Terry D]

Herm, The period of time or age between each molt. With tarantulas, eggs with legs would be 1st instar, next molt would be 2nd........... and so on. Terry

 

[Mack&Cass]

Actually eggs with legs are post-embryos, not first instar. First instar is the molt after eggs with legs, then second instar is the molt after that, etc.

Cass

 

[Protectyaaaneck]

Yep Cass is right.

eggs->eggs with legs->1st instar->2nd instar

 

[xhexdx]

Second instar is also the point where they actually look like tarantulas, and not just spiders.

 

[Scorpionking20]

Does anybody have an average of moult numbers before reaching typical adulthood? And do faster growers gain more size between moults, or moult more often? I know...a little off subject, but I've been curious and this is an instar thread.

 

[TalonAWD]

Does anybody have an average of moult numbers before reaching typical adulthood? And do faster growers gain more size between moults, or moult more often? I know...a little off subject, but I've been curious and this is an instar thread.

For the first part of your question, heres an example of molt history for my Mature Female C. cyaneopubescens (GBB)

Brought home 8-10-2007 .75" (3/4")

Molted 8-23-07 Has a gold Carapace!!
Molted 9-14-07 Has bluish femurs
Molted 10-08-07 Entire legs is colored bluish
Molted 11-04-07 Showing adult colors
Molted 12-14-07
Molted Early February
Molted Early April
Molted 6-28-08 Very Vibrant coloration! Confirmed Female.
Molted 9-10-08
Molted 2-20-09
Molted 3-28-10

For your second question, I would have to say yes and no. Sometimes faster growers like L. parahybana gains considerable size with each molt and others just molt more often. Every species has their numbers of molts to adulthood. They are not all the same. Much like us. Two people can grow different rates in the same time frame.

In my example for the GBB, she reached adulthood in around 10-12 molts.

 

[smallara98]

For the first part of your question, heres an example of molt history for my Mature Female C. cyaneopubescens (GBB)

Brought home 8-10-2007 .75" (3/4")

Molted 8-23-07 Has a gold Carapace!!
Molted 9-14-07 Has bluish femurs
Molted 10-08-07 Entire legs is colored bluish
Molted 11-04-07 Showing adult colors
Molted 12-14-07
Molted Early February
Molted Early April
Molted 6-28-08 Very Vibrant coloration! Confirmed Female.
Molted 9-10-08
Molted 2-20-09
Molted 3-28-10

For your second question, I would have to say yes and no. Sometimes faster growers like L. parahybana gains considerable size with each molt and others just molt more often. Every species has their numbers of molts to adulthood. They are not all the same. Much like us. Two people can grow different rates in the same time frame.

In my example for the GBB, she reached adulthood in around 10-12 molts.

+1 a B. smithi can reach adult hood at 14th instar (is that accurate?) . But as they get older , we tend to use L . Like , my smithi was at L9 when it passed away . That would be about 5 more molts till adult hood .

 

[Scorpionking20]

So cool! Thanks!

For the first part of your question, heres an example of molt history for my Mature Female C. cyaneopubescens (GBB)

Brought home 8-10-2007 .75" (3/4")

Molted 8-23-07 Has a gold Carapace!!
Molted 9-14-07 Has bluish femurs
Molted 10-08-07 Entire legs is colored bluish
Molted 11-04-07 Showing adult colors
Molted 12-14-07
Molted Early February
Molted Early April
Molted 6-28-08 Very Vibrant coloration! Confirmed Female.
Molted 9-10-08
Molted 2-20-09
Molted 3-28-10

For your second question, I would have to say yes and no. Sometimes faster growers like L. parahybana gains considerable size with each molt and others just molt more often. Every species has their numbers of molts to adulthood. They are not all the same. Much like us. Two people can grow different rates in the same time frame.

In my example for the GBB, she reached adulthood in around 10-12 molts.

Thanks so much for that info! My wife has wanted a GBB for a long time, and we just got one similar in size to the one you got, so this is a cool timeline to guesstimate (ours may grow slower...it's 70-75 in our house most of the time.) Thanks for posting that though, really.

 

[Endagr8]

+1 a B. smithi can reach adult hood at 14th instar (is that accurate?) .

Is this your estimate? Or can you please cite your source?

But as they get older , we tend to use L . Like , my smithi was at L9 when it passed away . That would be about 5 more molts till adult hood .

It is my understanding that L refers to legspan in centimeters.

 

[TalonAWD]

Thanks so much for that info! My wife has wanted a GBB for a long time, and we just got one similar in size to the one you got, so this is a cool timeline to guesstimate (ours may grow slower...it's 70-75 in our house most of the time.) Thanks for posting that though, really.

Glad I could help!

 

[smallara98]

Is this your estimate? Or can you please cite your source?

It is my understanding that L refers to legspan in centimeters.

No iv'e never heard that before . There was a video on a L9 smithi , but I cant find it right now .

 

[TalonAWD]

Just a guess... Is this it?

[YOUTUBE]ZgER8b2_AnQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

[smallara98]

Just a guess... Is this it?

[YOUTUBE]ZgER8b2_AnQ[/YOUTUBE]

Wow your like . . . Magic lol . Does that t look 9" to you ? Not to me . . . Cause the guy above is saying the "L" means Leg span . . . That looks more like 4"

 

[TalonAWD]

It is my understanding that L refers to legspan in centimeters.

Wow your like . . . Magic lol . Does that t look 9" to you ? Not to me . . . Cause the guy above is saying the "L" means Leg span . . . That looks more like 4"

Not magic. Just typed in "L9 Brachypelma smithi". And I think Endagr8 is stating that it means Centimeters, not inches by his understanding.
When taking that train of thought L9 would be the following.

9 Centimeters = 3.54330 inches

Personally I have no idea what that means (the "L") but I always thought it was instar number. But its not critical for me to know so I never looked into it.

 

[smallara98]

Not magic. Just typed in "L9 Brachypelma smithi". And I think Endagr8 is stating that it means Centimeters, not inches by his understanding.
When taking that train of thought L9 would be the following.

9 Centimeters = 3.54330 inches

Personally I have no idea what that means (the "L") but I always thought it was instar number. But its not critical for me to know so I never looked into it.

Yeah I always though it mean instar too .

 

[Protectyaaaneck]

Doesn't L# just stand for the # of molts it's had?

 

[Roski]

Doesn't L# just stand for the # of molts it's had?

L# stands for the Larval stage number, so yes, that is right.

Embryo -> L1 -> L2 -> L3 -> etc. -> adult.

 

[Endagr8]

L# stands for the Larval stage number, so yes, that is right.

Embryo -> L1 -> L2 -> L3 -> etc. -> adult.

How 'bout that! Thanks for the clarification, Roski!

It seems like a European thing though, because in America you'd usually see #i, referring to the instar of the animal. At least that's what's frequently used with scorpions. In America, most of us don't keep strict accounts (with the exception of TalonAWD ) of the instars of our tarantulas, or at least I don't.

 

[TalonAWD]

In America, most of us don't keep strict accounts (with the exception of TalonAWD ) of the instars of our tarantulas, or at least I don't.

LOL. Yeah I anal like that I guess. I have molt records dating back to the year 2000

And a file dedicated to every tarantula I have ever owned with picture diarys. I even hold on to the files of T's I sold. So far 9 GB worth of info and growing!
I like to have them for future reference.