Pre T.I.T.T.I.E.S hunting trip

[Texas Blonde]

Jared got here a couple days early, so we have been wandering W Tx for the past two days looking for tarantulas and scorpions. Yesterday we were in Carlsbad and had a really successful hunt. Here are some of the spiders we found there. Ill post scorpion pics later. Right now we are in Del Rio, and the wireless at the hotel is slow, so pics are taking forever to upload.

Jared scanning the ground.

Carlsbad Green burrow with a quarter for size comparison.

And its rather pretty occupant.

This shows how close together some of the burrows are. The hemostats in the middle are 24".

Some more burrow pictures.

This was my favorite find of the day. This big girl was wicked.

Gives new meaning to the term ankle biter.

She attacked my ankle so fiercly she nearly had a heart attack.

After about ten mins we got her into the vial.

 

[MaartenSFS]

Wouw, excellent photos. I have been looking for "these" in China and your shots just may help me to find their burrows (No luck so dar). Did it actually bite you?

 

[Texas Blonde]

Wouw, excellent photos. I have been looking for "these" in China and your shots just may help me to find their burrows (No luck so dar). Did it actually bite you?

No, not actually, but I thought it was going to try. I wish I had a video camera to show how it attacked the vial we were trying to put it in. It was crazy!

 

[Texas Blonde]

Here are some pics from yesterday. We are scouting locations to take people to find Aphonopelma moderatum on the T.I.T.T.I.E.S. trip. Ill let yall decide if we were successful for not.

Jareds find:

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Nice! I hope I'll be seeing these guys in a couple days, then.

 

[funnylori]

Ooooo ooohooooohhh so pretty! Okay, I'm all hyped up now. Been packed for three days now.

 

[Texas Blonde]

Nice! I hope I'll be seeing these guys in a couple days, then.

I can absolutely positively guarantee that yall will see and find a wild moderatum. I just hope that everyone understands that recounting where they are found is a major taboo!

 

[Mr. Mordax]

If there were a smiley with a zipper-mouth, I'd be posting it now.

 

[AR-Tarantula]

"I just hope that everyone understands that recounting where they are found is a major taboo!"

The question is, will there be any left after you all visit these sites?

If you all will not be collecting, nevermind.

 

[josh_r]

they have very small burrow entrances. i wouldnt have expected such a large spider to come out of that. sky, are u still up for a second trip after the titties trip???

 

[Texas Blonde]

"I just hope that everyone understands that recounting where they are found is a major taboo!"

The question is, will there be any left after you all visit these sites?

If you all will not be collecting, nevermind.

Nope, no collecting on this trip. The focus of the trip is just to enjoy the spiders in the wild.

 

[JPMiers]

Hi I'd really like to know the species of the "ankle biter" you found, I've found one just like it except the abdomen is a bit smaller and also the underside of the pedipalps (I think thats what they're called, T's aren't my specialty. the shorter legs infront of the fangs.) are the same color as the red on the fangs. I think it may just be a difference from male and female because I noticed that this one has the 'fang hooks' on the two front legs to hold the females fangs back during mating. The T is about 5'' from front toe to back toe. very pretty, but not as angry lol

any help is much appreciated.

 

[Richard McJimsey]

the ankle biter is an Aphonopelma sp. "carlsbad green"

 

[antbebo]

I have driven from Fort Stockton to Alpine the past two days, and there are lots of Ts on the highway in the mornings. Good luck on your trip! With the threat of rain, you should see lots of great critters on the move.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Well, I'd say our endeavors to find A. moderatum were successful . . .
disclaimer: no tarantulas were harmed or collected in any excursions on this trip

(Man, I'm glad I'm getting braces this month!)

I can't remember who took which photos -- I was too excited about the tarantulas.

 

[Texas Blonde]

I can't remember who took which photos -- I was too excited about the tarantulas.

LOL! I took the one on the bottom. I thought it was a great pic of you!