- Joined
- Dec 29, 2002
- Messages
- 715
Harpactira atra, however I never buy only one of whichever I am buying, I always get groups of 3 or 5 to increase my odds of getting at least one female.
Arizona is a big state and most of it is open desert and scrub hillsides. I am guessing the majority of A Chalcodes collected wild are from the foothills around Phoenix and Tucson. I honestly don't think collectors could put a dent in the wild population. At worst in a couple small areas, so I wouldn't stress on purchasing one that is wild caught. If my smaller one turns out Male, I will attempt to breed with my AFWow, gorgeous! I won't give up. I actually saw some for sale at TSS but they were wild caught. Still not sure how wild caught sits with me....
That's good to know. The more inaccessible the more you want I guess!Arizona is a big state and most of it is open desert and scrub hillsides. I am guessing the majority of A Chalcodes collected wild are from the foothills around Phoenix and Tucson. I honestly don't think collectors could put a dent in the wild population. At worst in a couple small areas, so I wouldn't stress on purchasing one that is wild caught. If my smaller one turns out Male, I will attempt to breed with my AF
Will do. I live one state over (CA) and work with a dealer out of AZ. It is one species I am quite familiar with, I also have 3 A Steindachneri I am hoping to breed. For lots of folks they are no big deal but I get why people across the pond desire them.That's good to know. The more inaccessible the more you want I guess!
Good luck with that possible male!
I saw those on one of Tom Moran's YouTube videos and have never once seen them for sale, sadly.Right now, it's Eucratoscelus pachypus, which is unfortunately not an easy species to find.
I cannot agree more with that statement. They are definitely underrated in the hobby from all the reasons you said. My A. Chalcodes is one of the jewels of my collection.I recently got an adult female A. chalcodes and I absolutely love her. Sure they may not be 'flashy' like a P. metallica or something, but they really are beautiful in a more subdued way. My girl is also very docile, calm, and curious about her environment. I think it's a shame that I overlooked this genus for so long! When I first started, I thought they were a little drab, common, and too slow growing (which they are!) for my taste, but now I appreciate them for what they are. A must have in my opinion.
Mari, my A. chalcodes.
The species as a whole certainly does not appear to be in danger of disappearing because of over collecting, because as you mention they are distributed in many hard to reach and remote areas and difficult terrain. However it is a shame that they will likely disappear from some easy to access public areas because of the pet trade demand. The fact that they can take close to ten years to mature, and adult females are what is usually collected, makes it more difficult for populations to rebound. There are responsible collectors that only take some of what they find, and then others that only want to make money and take every specimen they find in a locale. Some locales will be gleaned over, year after year until no more are found. The species still won't be endangered by any means, but it would be a shame to have particular locales be devoid of such a beautiful species. There are areas around Tucson with large healthy populations, that is where most are collected, but I wouldn't underestimate the potential damage increased collecting (because of demand) would do. In my limited field time, populations around Tucson were significantly more dense than in areas around Phoenix. In areas around Phoenix I would find a few burrows in a couple of hours of searching, where as in the suburbs of Tucson I would find a half dozen in one backyard!Arizona is a big state and most of it is open desert and scrub hillsides. I am guessing the majority of A Chalcodes collected wild are from the foothills around Phoenix and Tucson. I honestly don't think collectors could put a dent in the wild population. At worst in a couple small areas, so I wouldn't stress on purchasing one that is wild caught. If my smaller one turns out Male, I will attempt to breed with my AF
Just wondering, but why do you consider them your dream genus? Genuinely curious...they've just never appealed to me personally.So I’ve been thinking about this question a bit and I think I’m not sure if I have a single dream species, but maybe to have the entire cyriocosmus genus might be a single dream genus.
As someone who doesn't collect, but sees collected A Chalcodes multiple times a year (pre covid) my experience is the majority are subadults unsexed. I do agree if people over harvest a limited area it would be bad, but that has never been my experience. I know of only a couple folks who do collect, and they collect sparingly and sensibly from a variety of locales. It is nowhere near the scale of what was happening in Southern Mexico with BrachypelmaThe species as a whole certainly does not appear to be in danger of disappearing because of over collecting, because as you mention they are distributed in many hard to reach and remote areas and difficult terrain. However it is a shame that they will likely disappear from some easy to access public areas because of the pet trade demand. The fact that they can take close to ten years to mature, and adult females are what is usually collected, makes it more difficult for populations to rebound. There are responsible collectors that only take some of what they find, and then others that only want to make money and take every specimen they find in a locale. Some locales will be gleaned over, year after year until no more are found. The species still won't be endangered by any means, but it would be a shame to have particular locales be devoid of such a beautiful species. There are areas around Tucson with large healthy populations, that is where most are collected, but I wouldn't underestimate the potential damage increased collecting (because of demand) would do. In my limited field time, populations around Tucson were significantly more dense than in areas around Phoenix. In areas around Phoenix I would find a few burrows in a couple of hours of searching, where as in the suburbs of Tucson I would find a half dozen in one backyard!
Luckily for the species they aren't flashy with bright colors like the Brachypelma. They were ignored/unnoticed for so long up until recently when Chile discontinued legal export of their endemic species. A. chalcodes seem to fill the void for "docile beginner species", cheap for the pet industry to buy in bulk. I do find it interesting that we don't see A. hentzi sold at petcos and other pet stores to the same degree as A. chalcodes.As someone who doesn't collect, but sees collected A Chalcodes multiple times a year (pre covid) my experience is the majority are subadults unsexed. I do agree if people over harvest a limited area it would be bad, but that has never been my experience. I know of only a couple folks who do collect, and they collect sparingly and sensibly from a variety of locales. It is nowhere near the scale of what was happening in Southern Mexico with Brachypelma
and luckily Arizona lacks large numbers of people at an economic level where going out and collecting Ts can double their household income. A chalcodes does make a great beginner T, they are prettier and typically more docile than hentzi which I think is driving their popularity. I live in San Diego, and granted, rarely go in the Box Stores as I have never seen any Aphonopelma in any of them. You are correct, as the Rose Hair varieties dry lip, something will fill that voidLuckily for the species they aren't flashy with bright colors like the Brachypelma. They were ignored/unnoticed for so long up until recently when Chile discontinued legal export of their endemic species. A. chalcodes seem to fill the void for "docile beginner species", cheap for the pet industry to buy in bulk. I do find it interesting that we don't see A. hentzi sold at petcos and other pet stores to the same degree as A. chalcodes.
I felt the same until I decided to purchase a C. elegans. They're absolutely tiny little babies, but they have a faint adult pattern to them really early that gets more pronounced with every molt. They're very active. Mine is almost always burrowing and webbing. They grow quickly, don't take up much space, and I've been surprised at how the burrow changes over time. At first there was a little flap over the opening of the burrow, almost like a trap door, and he would dart out and drag prey into his burrow. Now he approaches very slowly and takes his prey almost gently down into his open burrow. I thought I wouldn't like dwarf tarantulas, but this little guy changed my mind. I have four dwarves now, lol.Just wondering, but why do you consider them your dream genus? Genuinely curious...they've just never appealed to me personally.