XxSpiderQueenxX
Arachnobaron
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- Feb 14, 2019
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Ohh, I completely forgot about the legal issues.
Stacey's Web Development Co.
- Thread starter Ah Lee
- Start date
MrGhostMantis
Arachnoprince
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2019
- Messages
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If they weren’t there I would be shipping in every species of mantis I could find haha. Sadly it’s not a reality without a permit and you need to be 18 for those.
Edit: If you’re younger than 18 I’m pretty sure you can put in your parents age instead of yours.
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Ah Lee
Arachnosquire
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- May 30, 2020
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- 147
Photography!
Recently I've really been wanting to get back into macro photography because it's something I really enjoy. I see a lot of cool stuff when catching food for the little employees, and it's a shame not to capture them.
I have a 13-year-old Nikon D80 and a Nikkor 60mm macro lens I picked up from a junkyard sale. Also a Sigma flash i picked up from a thrift store for my sister's wedding. Now all I needed was a good diffuser.
A few cable ties, 2 pairs of chopsticks and a dismantled aroma diffuser later, I had myself a really janky setup.
My wife laughed her head off at the sight of it, but I'm determined to prove it's worth.
Coffee was once again my test subject. Skittles is way too shy and Pepper doesn't look good without backlighting. I threw her a sacrificial grashopper and voila, my first successful shot!
Also Coffee looks like she's about to explode. I thought she was about to molt 2 weeks ago. Till today, she's still eating.
Armed with confidence and a half-reluctant wife, I set off to my usual hunting spot.
First shot was a dragonfly. It was kidnapped shortly after the shot, and is now in Skittles' mouth.
Another beautiful damselfly, it too was kidnapped after photo-taking for Pepper's dinner. I'm sorry beautiful wildlife, I'm being forced to do so, I'm not even paid!
Next up is a Bird Dung Spider. This amazing spider mimics bird dung to ambush flies and also stay hidden from predators.
A little while later I saw an ant. But it didn't move like an ant. I then realised it's an Ant Mimicking Sac Spider.
Hiding in a little leaf nest, I found a huntsman spider. The rain had flushed it out of it's hidey hole, and this allowed me to take some really good shots of it and practice my focus stacking. This image is created from a stack of 5 photos.
Next stage was a jumper. This one was much more difficult as it was constantly moving. I was also using manual focusing as my ancient camera's autofocus was crap, and the fact that I couldn't machinegun my shots as my flash was slow to recharge compounded the difficulty. Nevertheless I managed to get some good shots, and got these from 3 and 5 image stacks.
That's all for spiders, I also had a whole bunch of non-spiders which I'll post in the next post. EDIT: I decided against it. This is the other spiders and arachnid forum anyways, so I don't wanna go too off-topic.
So far I'm really pleased with the results of my budget janky setup. Hopefully I'll see some Nephilas the next time, we had a storm here which is probably why I didn't see any today.
Till next time!
Recently I've really been wanting to get back into macro photography because it's something I really enjoy. I see a lot of cool stuff when catching food for the little employees, and it's a shame not to capture them.
I have a 13-year-old Nikon D80 and a Nikkor 60mm macro lens I picked up from a junkyard sale. Also a Sigma flash i picked up from a thrift store for my sister's wedding. Now all I needed was a good diffuser.
A few cable ties, 2 pairs of chopsticks and a dismantled aroma diffuser later, I had myself a really janky setup.
My wife laughed her head off at the sight of it, but I'm determined to prove it's worth.
Coffee was once again my test subject. Skittles is way too shy and Pepper doesn't look good without backlighting. I threw her a sacrificial grashopper and voila, my first successful shot!
Also Coffee looks like she's about to explode. I thought she was about to molt 2 weeks ago. Till today, she's still eating.
Armed with confidence and a half-reluctant wife, I set off to my usual hunting spot.
First shot was a dragonfly. It was kidnapped shortly after the shot, and is now in Skittles' mouth.
Another beautiful damselfly, it too was kidnapped after photo-taking for Pepper's dinner. I'm sorry beautiful wildlife, I'm being forced to do so, I'm not even paid!
Next up is a Bird Dung Spider. This amazing spider mimics bird dung to ambush flies and also stay hidden from predators.
A little while later I saw an ant. But it didn't move like an ant. I then realised it's an Ant Mimicking Sac Spider.
Hiding in a little leaf nest, I found a huntsman spider. The rain had flushed it out of it's hidey hole, and this allowed me to take some really good shots of it and practice my focus stacking. This image is created from a stack of 5 photos.
Next stage was a jumper. This one was much more difficult as it was constantly moving. I was also using manual focusing as my ancient camera's autofocus was crap, and the fact that I couldn't machinegun my shots as my flash was slow to recharge compounded the difficulty. Nevertheless I managed to get some good shots, and got these from 3 and 5 image stacks.
That's all for spiders, I also had a whole bunch of non-spiders which I'll post in the next post. EDIT: I decided against it. This is the other spiders and arachnid forum anyways, so I don't wanna go too off-topic.
So far I'm really pleased with the results of my budget janky setup. Hopefully I'll see some Nephilas the next time, we had a storm here which is probably why I didn't see any today.
Till next time!
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MrGhostMantis
Arachnoprince
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Nice shots!
Ah Lee
Arachnosquire
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I forgot about the legal part as well, thanks for pointing it out! I had never shipped spiders before, but was always under the impression that they would even turn up on the x-rays.
Ah Lee
Arachnosquire
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- May 30, 2020
- Messages
- 147
Hey there, good-looking!
Stacey's Web Development Company has recently approved of the budget to buy a new camera lens for the human slave. CEO Pepper justified the purchase by saying it'll help the company's image, but we all know she just wants to look prettier.
The new lens is 90mm vs a 60mm I was using previously. This means I can now actually take some photos of Skittles with the glass doors closed. Lighting is still hard, but my new DIY flash diffuser still did a decent job.
I had the chance to take one shot, after which Skittles ran away in terrible fright. I think she looks really badass though. Like something about to eat Frodo and Sam.
Pepper also looks really fabulous with the new setup. The longer focal length and vibration control on the new lens means I can get closer, which was impossible last time because Pepper is too high up for a tripod.
I would really love to find a way to backlight her though. Her reds really only shine when light is coming from behind her. Also hopefully she flip around one day, because I want photos of that gorgeous gold crown.
Next up I'll get some nice close-ups of the girls eating, and hopefully the eggs will be hatching soon so there's that. Life is fun again!
Stacey's Web Development Company has recently approved of the budget to buy a new camera lens for the human slave. CEO Pepper justified the purchase by saying it'll help the company's image, but we all know she just wants to look prettier.
The new lens is 90mm vs a 60mm I was using previously. This means I can now actually take some photos of Skittles with the glass doors closed. Lighting is still hard, but my new DIY flash diffuser still did a decent job.
I had the chance to take one shot, after which Skittles ran away in terrible fright. I think she looks really badass though. Like something about to eat Frodo and Sam.
Pepper also looks really fabulous with the new setup. The longer focal length and vibration control on the new lens means I can get closer, which was impossible last time because Pepper is too high up for a tripod.
I would really love to find a way to backlight her though. Her reds really only shine when light is coming from behind her. Also hopefully she flip around one day, because I want photos of that gorgeous gold crown.
Next up I'll get some nice close-ups of the girls eating, and hopefully the eggs will be hatching soon so there's that. Life is fun again!
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Amazing pics Lee I can't wait to see more 
Ah Lee
Arachnosquire
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Omnomnom
It's been so quiet here at SWDC, everyone is just hanging out not doing very much. The most interesting thing that might happen all day is Coffee fixing her web, which the fastidous little thing does a lot.
Pepper the CEO is just enjoying CEO life, but still keeps her web reasonably well-maintained. It still has the massive gaps, but as of now I haven't had any ideas why she still does not spin a golden web. But she's reproducing, and seems really healthy, that's all that matters!
I decided to take the chance during the latest dinnertime to take some photos of Pepper. Today's menu is a dragonfly, served fresh with a dash of pollen.
I managed to get some nice shots of her half-gold carapace as she was wrapping up her prey. There seems to be significantly less gold now, and her abdomen has developed a strange brown stripe. Looks almost like a stretch mark from her getting gravid.
Coffee also didn't mind photography much. And gosh is she getting fat. I am just baffled how she is just getting so fat without molting. Normally she would have molted 5 meals ago. But yet here she is, still eating. Her abdomen is so large now, you can see it's indented near the rear legs so the rear legs can move.
Skittles, as usual, doesn't like photography, and grumpily dragged her dead butterfly back to her little hole to eat.
That's all for SWDC updates, it's really peaceful now, so hopefully the babies will hatch soon, because I'm just exploding with excitement!
It's been so quiet here at SWDC, everyone is just hanging out not doing very much. The most interesting thing that might happen all day is Coffee fixing her web, which the fastidous little thing does a lot.
Pepper the CEO is just enjoying CEO life, but still keeps her web reasonably well-maintained. It still has the massive gaps, but as of now I haven't had any ideas why she still does not spin a golden web. But she's reproducing, and seems really healthy, that's all that matters!
I decided to take the chance during the latest dinnertime to take some photos of Pepper. Today's menu is a dragonfly, served fresh with a dash of pollen.
I managed to get some nice shots of her half-gold carapace as she was wrapping up her prey. There seems to be significantly less gold now, and her abdomen has developed a strange brown stripe. Looks almost like a stretch mark from her getting gravid.
Coffee also didn't mind photography much. And gosh is she getting fat. I am just baffled how she is just getting so fat without molting. Normally she would have molted 5 meals ago. But yet here she is, still eating. Her abdomen is so large now, you can see it's indented near the rear legs so the rear legs can move.
Skittles, as usual, doesn't like photography, and grumpily dragged her dead butterfly back to her little hole to eat.
That's all for SWDC updates, it's really peaceful now, so hopefully the babies will hatch soon, because I'm just exploding with excitement!
Ah Lee
Arachnosquire
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Mystery of the big-gapped web
Last night Coffee repaired the middle section of her web, and strangely repaired it using Pepper's style: with huge gaping holes.
Today's sun is really strong and my window was open, so my hypothesis is that she was halfway through building and the sun came in and bothered her so she retreated.
If that is not the case though, then it really is something strange going on in my room. I'll have to observe her for a while to draw a conclusion. For all I know CEO Pepper is passing down instructions to her workers to make the same crappy web she does
Last night Coffee repaired the middle section of her web, and strangely repaired it using Pepper's style: with huge gaping holes.
Today's sun is really strong and my window was open, so my hypothesis is that she was halfway through building and the sun came in and bothered her so she retreated.
If that is not the case though, then it really is something strange going on in my room. I'll have to observe her for a while to draw a conclusion. For all I know CEO Pepper is passing down instructions to her workers to make the same crappy web she does
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Happens a lot in the wild. I just assume they run out of sticky line which no doubt uses more of their resources than the guy lines.
Ah Lee
Arachnosquire
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That's what I felt was happening with Pepper and Stacey too. Makes sense because the sticky lines come from a completely different gland, and their composition is markedly different. The question is what then?
Coffee easily has the most varied diet. She gets midges, alates, katydids, grasshoppers, crickets, dragonflies and butterflies. And her mom, who is on a rather similar diet, still makes a normal web every other day.
This might just be a one-off event for Coffee, so again, nothing conclusive, but I'll keep looking out!
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Exactly. You're a pioneer, the chief researcher in an extended Nephila analysis program. Under ideal circumstances by observations............................
I'm certainly going to be using the knowledge I gained from your observations in my examining them in the wild. If nothing else we will learn the differences if any through comparisons.
By the way, how about providing them with foliage, vines or plants, to attach their webs to? I'd like to see if they web and curl up leaves for a hide like I've seen Clavata do.
PS Some interesting reading. Their methodology keeping the spiders may be of some use to you. https://appmicro.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s42649-020-00030-x
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Ah Lee
Arachnosquire
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SWDC June company update
Hello everyone, and welcome to the most... uninteresting of company updates. I haven't been updating much here partly because nothing much is happening, but mostly because I have been working 9am - 11pm most days to try and bring my hooman company out of the red. And I have! So that's good news on the hooman side.
Battle of the titans
It's the season for gigantic Tropical Swallowtail Moths, the Lyssa zampa. They are beautiful, very majestic and are swarming now. They are also, according to Pepper, looking really delicious. The human slave has again been ordered to find one.
I found one, 6" in wingspan, just what the CEO ordered. It was pretty shaken by the time I got back, so I just threw it into Pepper's web. Part of the reason why I decided to feed Pepper such a large prey is because her web is really falling into disrepair, and without rain to destroy it, I figured a gigantic moth would help.
It didn't struggle nearly as much as I thought it would, but Pepper did struggle with it's weight, and the web was pretty much badly damaged. She finished her meal and repaired the web the next day. Success!
I am readying her for a 3rd eggsac now. Unfortunately I have lost the first 2. The first one just didn't hatch, and I lost the 2nd to mold. I will be building a new incubator with better ventilation, but I really am gutted at losing the first 2. There's also no info on breeding them that I can find, so I'm pretty much stabbing in the dark here.
Coffee is exploding. Send help.
Downstairs in Coffee's office, the previous big-gapped web was a false alarm. Coffee filled it in the next day with sticky webbing and all was normal.
She's really made this area her own. Her little lattice tunnel now is very well defined. And she comes out to hang out at the hub a lot more now. I usually try to reach the stuff behind the web through the bottom-righr corner, and usually bump into her web as I do. She has since removed that whole chunk so I can work easily now. Considerate!
She is going unnaturally long without a molt though. She is still eating, and still hanging out at her hub every night, waiting for prey. Her abdomen has engorged to the point of bursting, but yet she still moves with grace and speed.
Her markings have gotten completely red now, something that is so subtle I did not notice because I see her everyday.
SWDC's most productive worker
In the other room, Skittles has just laid her 8th eggsac. I have no idea how she is so productive, but she is. She still moves with a lot of vigor, but she maintains a smaller web now, and it's not as neat as it usually is. Perhaps age is catching up to her, she's quite old in orbweaver years now.
I took the time to release her 7th batch. I might keep her 8th batch for a while when they do hatch, if only because it's been quiet here so it gives me something to do, and also so I can start finding Coffee a mate.
New employee?
I am also toying around with the idea of hiring a new employee for SWDC. Another orbweaver might be hard due to space constrains, but I found some lichen huntsman spiders which I was so tempted to keep, but again I wanted to make a perfect home for them before I take one home.
The other alternative is a tent-web spider. These will make for really interesting pets due to the incredible webs they create, but again I'm back to the problem of space!
I'll sleep on it, I'm not in a hurry, but working in SWDC as a human slave and keeping this thread updated honestly brings me more joy than working in the hooman company, so it might really be time to expand the company a lil!
I would not keep my spiders this way, but I still find it amazing how they would web even in such unnatural conditions. Apparently they would also release a fly or 2 for the stubborn ones to entice them to web. This tells me that they do take prey availability as a deciding factor to web or not.
As for foliage, Pepper and Stacey both had access to lots of fake foliage, and have not observed that they had any interest in the leaves at all. In fact, they never wander off their hub for no reason. I've not seen any Nephilas do that in the wild either, but now that you mention it, I'll try to keep a look out!
Hello everyone, and welcome to the most... uninteresting of company updates. I haven't been updating much here partly because nothing much is happening, but mostly because I have been working 9am - 11pm most days to try and bring my hooman company out of the red. And I have! So that's good news on the hooman side.
Battle of the titans
It's the season for gigantic Tropical Swallowtail Moths, the Lyssa zampa. They are beautiful, very majestic and are swarming now. They are also, according to Pepper, looking really delicious. The human slave has again been ordered to find one.
I found one, 6" in wingspan, just what the CEO ordered. It was pretty shaken by the time I got back, so I just threw it into Pepper's web. Part of the reason why I decided to feed Pepper such a large prey is because her web is really falling into disrepair, and without rain to destroy it, I figured a gigantic moth would help.
It didn't struggle nearly as much as I thought it would, but Pepper did struggle with it's weight, and the web was pretty much badly damaged. She finished her meal and repaired the web the next day. Success!
I am readying her for a 3rd eggsac now. Unfortunately I have lost the first 2. The first one just didn't hatch, and I lost the 2nd to mold. I will be building a new incubator with better ventilation, but I really am gutted at losing the first 2. There's also no info on breeding them that I can find, so I'm pretty much stabbing in the dark here.
Coffee is exploding. Send help.
Downstairs in Coffee's office, the previous big-gapped web was a false alarm. Coffee filled it in the next day with sticky webbing and all was normal.
She's really made this area her own. Her little lattice tunnel now is very well defined. And she comes out to hang out at the hub a lot more now. I usually try to reach the stuff behind the web through the bottom-righr corner, and usually bump into her web as I do. She has since removed that whole chunk so I can work easily now. Considerate!
She is going unnaturally long without a molt though. She is still eating, and still hanging out at her hub every night, waiting for prey. Her abdomen has engorged to the point of bursting, but yet she still moves with grace and speed.
Her markings have gotten completely red now, something that is so subtle I did not notice because I see her everyday.
SWDC's most productive worker
In the other room, Skittles has just laid her 8th eggsac. I have no idea how she is so productive, but she is. She still moves with a lot of vigor, but she maintains a smaller web now, and it's not as neat as it usually is. Perhaps age is catching up to her, she's quite old in orbweaver years now.
I took the time to release her 7th batch. I might keep her 8th batch for a while when they do hatch, if only because it's been quiet here so it gives me something to do, and also so I can start finding Coffee a mate.
New employee?
I am also toying around with the idea of hiring a new employee for SWDC. Another orbweaver might be hard due to space constrains, but I found some lichen huntsman spiders which I was so tempted to keep, but again I wanted to make a perfect home for them before I take one home.
The other alternative is a tent-web spider. These will make for really interesting pets due to the incredible webs they create, but again I'm back to the problem of space!
I'll sleep on it, I'm not in a hurry, but working in SWDC as a human slave and keeping this thread updated honestly brings me more joy than working in the hooman company, so it might really be time to expand the company a lil!
Their method seems very similar to another one I've read in a research paper, which involves the same type of "frame". I'll try to dig it up, but the scientists' way of rearing Nephilas involved rows of these frames, with vaseline-coated panels separating them. The frames are lined internally with black felt to allow the spider to climb and anchor more easily.
I would not keep my spiders this way, but I still find it amazing how they would web even in such unnatural conditions. Apparently they would also release a fly or 2 for the stubborn ones to entice them to web. This tells me that they do take prey availability as a deciding factor to web or not.
As for foliage, Pepper and Stacey both had access to lots of fake foliage, and have not observed that they had any interest in the leaves at all. In fact, they never wander off their hub for no reason. I've not seen any Nephilas do that in the wild either, but now that you mention it, I'll try to keep a look out!
Ah Lee
Arachnosquire
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SWDC's new employee
SWDC has been sending the human slave on hiking trips pretty often these days. It gives the human slave opportunities to photograph the local wildlife, and also capture delicious chow back for the employees. Pepper is gearing up for a third eggsac, Skittles is recovering from laying her 8th eggsac, and the company has decided to stuff Coffee silly until she finally molts.
The thought of hiring a new employee has always been an idea in my head, but last night I didn't have to decide anymore. I found a spider I had been searching for for years. Introducing...*dramatic drumroll*
Workman's Werewolf Spider
Damarchus workmani
I found her scuttling along the leaf litter and thought she was a huge cricket. She's about 5cm in legspan, I don't think they get much larger, but there's not much info on this species. They are pretty elusive, and don't wander out of their burrows very often.
She's very cooperative for photography, and doesn't move at all, but when she does she's really quick. Thankfully she can't climb smooth surfaces, so I managed to photograph her nicely.
I filled a really tall glass vase with soil, compacted it as hard as I could, and left her to it. Good thing is that I do not need a lid! The vase is now in a dark corner of my room, and I've already spotted a tiny burrow in it. I'll leave it in darkness so hopefully she'll make her burrow against the glass. I'll report back in a day or 2!
I am so excited to have found her, I'd been looking for her species since I was 13. I hope to find a male one day, and give their wild population a little boost, but for now I'm just gonna need a name for her!
Everyone else in the company isn't up to much. Coffee is still getting fatter, Pepper looks ready to drop her 3rd eggsac, Skittles is still recovering from laying her 8th. I still have hope that I can raise Pepper's eggsac, hopefully third time's the charm!
SWDC has been sending the human slave on hiking trips pretty often these days. It gives the human slave opportunities to photograph the local wildlife, and also capture delicious chow back for the employees. Pepper is gearing up for a third eggsac, Skittles is recovering from laying her 8th eggsac, and the company has decided to stuff Coffee silly until she finally molts.
The thought of hiring a new employee has always been an idea in my head, but last night I didn't have to decide anymore. I found a spider I had been searching for for years. Introducing...*dramatic drumroll*
Workman's Werewolf Spider
Damarchus workmani
I found her scuttling along the leaf litter and thought she was a huge cricket. She's about 5cm in legspan, I don't think they get much larger, but there's not much info on this species. They are pretty elusive, and don't wander out of their burrows very often.
She's very cooperative for photography, and doesn't move at all, but when she does she's really quick. Thankfully she can't climb smooth surfaces, so I managed to photograph her nicely.
I filled a really tall glass vase with soil, compacted it as hard as I could, and left her to it. Good thing is that I do not need a lid! The vase is now in a dark corner of my room, and I've already spotted a tiny burrow in it. I'll leave it in darkness so hopefully she'll make her burrow against the glass. I'll report back in a day or 2!
I am so excited to have found her, I'd been looking for her species since I was 13. I hope to find a male one day, and give their wild population a little boost, but for now I'm just gonna need a name for her!
Everyone else in the company isn't up to much. Coffee is still getting fatter, Pepper looks ready to drop her 3rd eggsac, Skittles is still recovering from laying her 8th. I still have hope that I can raise Pepper's eggsac, hopefully third time's the charm!
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She is amazing Lee ! Have you named her yet ? I think she should be named after a sharp tasting food as you already have Coffee, (bitter) Skittles, (sweet) and Pepper (spicy) . I look forward to finding out what you named her and as always to see what happens in the next installment of Stacey's Web Development Co 
Ah Lee
Arachnosquire
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@Charliemum that is brilliant! I've never even noticed I did thatShe is amazing Lee ! Have you named her yet ? I think she should be named after a sharp tasting food as you already have Coffee, (bitter) Skittles, (sweet) and Pepper (spicy) . I look forward to finding out what you named her and as always to see what happens in the next installment of Stacey's Web Development Co
A sour or salty food sounds about right then! I'll mull over it, but in the meantime if you have any suggestions I'm all ears!
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Kumquat for sour n not sure for salty@Charliemum that is brilliant! I've never even noticed I did that
I am sure whatever you decide will be perfect for her Lee. Maybe you have a favourite sour or salty food?
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She is amazing Lee ! Have you named her yet ? I think she should be named after a sharp tasting food as you already have Coffee, (bitter) Skittles, (sweet) and Pepper (spicy) . I look forward to finding out what you named her and as always to see what happens in the next installment of Stacey's Web Development Co
Gorgonzola, cheddar, gouda, stilton, miso, lemon@Charliemum that is brilliant! I've never even noticed I did that
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Sour Candies@Charliemum that is brilliant! I've never even noticed I did that
- Lemon Drop
- Napoleon Sour
- Sour Apple
- Sour Ball
- Sour Patch
- Sour Punch
- SweeTart
- Warhead
Other Salty, Savory, or Sour Foods
- Anchovy
- Bacon
- Cecina (salted meat)
- Ceviche
- Garum (Roman fish sauce)
- Hambone
- Jamón (Spanish ham)
- Jerky
- Kimchi
- Peanut
- Pickle
- Pork Rind
- Sauerkraut
- Soybean or Soy
- Vinegar
- Worcestershire
Ah Lee
Arachnosquire
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It's been a while, people!
Hello Arachnoboards! It's been a long while since my last update, and unfortunately, that's because I have bad news.
Both Pepper and Skittles have passed away earlier in July. They died within a day of each other, so I was pretty down, which is why I had a long leave from this thread.
Skittles died of old age as far as I could tell. Like Stacey she just started slowing down, and one day just fell of her web. Even to the last day, her web was in immaculate as is befitting of the chief web designer. I would like to think she had a good life here at SWDC. She had laid a total of 9 eggsacs, and clearing her tank I was quite appalled at the number of dead insects within.
Pepper died of egg impaction. I am not sure if there was an external factor which caused it, or if it was just old age and she could not muster the strength to release her eggs. Either way, I saw her in a corner of the room laying down the foundation of her eggsac, and decided to leave her alone overnight. Ambient humidity is as it always is in a tropical country, hovering around 90%. The next day I saw her still on her eggsac with no egg in sight, so I knew there was trouble. I saw a bit of yellowish, hardened fluid at her epigastric furrow, so I moistened the area and removed it. That unfortunately did not help, and she passed away within a couple of hours.
I buried the both of them together in a spot near my home. I had decided that if I were to keep SWDC going, I cannot be creating little coffins for all of my deceased employees. It would be very bad for the environment they live in, so I just buried them as they were, to be one with nature again.
I also released the little trapdoor spider back where she came from. I had searched for a male for days without avail, and being as rare as they are, I really do not wish to decimate their population even further. So I fed her as much as I could, and released her back home so she can hopefully breed and have lots of kids. Then and maybe then, I might keep one again.
Moving on
As saddening as the loss of both of them is, I am determined to keep SWDC running. Caring for these little spiders is really the joy of my day, and I love coming home to their antics every day. The house is a little quieter now, but Coffee still is by my side day and night keeping me company.
My next phase of planning will probably involve a complete overhaul of the SWDC office. The morning sun comes in through the window of the left side everyday, so my first plan is to move my entire workstation to the right. This means that my next spider can have a nice, sunny spot to built her web.
The second plan is to remove the carpet and replace it with waterproof vinyl. I will move the wooden cabinets to the further end, away from the web-building corner. That will mean that I can probably get away with misting the spider more and keeping that corner a little more humid.
All these are plans for my next orbweaver, but for now it's all in the planning stages as I really do not have the heart to destroy Coffee's home and move her. That'll give me a bit more time to come up with a good design for a room where human, technology and spider can live together happily.
So for now, all you're going to be seeing is pictures of Coffee getting fat. I may have a new employee coming up, but I'll update y'all on that in a few days.
Coffee the new CEO
With things as they are, Coffee is now the new CEO of SWDC! I just observed a wild Nephilengys malabrensis (very possibly Skittles' kid) who has had 2 eggsacs already. I'm so happy the little population is doing well! But that particular specimen is smaller than Coffee, so I realised that Coffee might actually already be mature, which is why she isn't molting. It's strange though, because Skittles is much, much larger than them both. Perhaps they will have one or two post-maturity molts, but for now there is an urgency to find Coffee a mate. I have 2 babies with me that I am hoping might turn out to be male, or I might have to capture one.
That's about it for the update, it's a really wordy update with very little pictures because to be honest, I was not really in the mood to take pictures with all that was happening. But I'll see you again soon!
Hello Arachnoboards! It's been a long while since my last update, and unfortunately, that's because I have bad news.
Both Pepper and Skittles have passed away earlier in July. They died within a day of each other, so I was pretty down, which is why I had a long leave from this thread.
Skittles died of old age as far as I could tell. Like Stacey she just started slowing down, and one day just fell of her web. Even to the last day, her web was in immaculate as is befitting of the chief web designer. I would like to think she had a good life here at SWDC. She had laid a total of 9 eggsacs, and clearing her tank I was quite appalled at the number of dead insects within.
Pepper died of egg impaction. I am not sure if there was an external factor which caused it, or if it was just old age and she could not muster the strength to release her eggs. Either way, I saw her in a corner of the room laying down the foundation of her eggsac, and decided to leave her alone overnight. Ambient humidity is as it always is in a tropical country, hovering around 90%. The next day I saw her still on her eggsac with no egg in sight, so I knew there was trouble. I saw a bit of yellowish, hardened fluid at her epigastric furrow, so I moistened the area and removed it. That unfortunately did not help, and she passed away within a couple of hours.
I buried the both of them together in a spot near my home. I had decided that if I were to keep SWDC going, I cannot be creating little coffins for all of my deceased employees. It would be very bad for the environment they live in, so I just buried them as they were, to be one with nature again.
I also released the little trapdoor spider back where she came from. I had searched for a male for days without avail, and being as rare as they are, I really do not wish to decimate their population even further. So I fed her as much as I could, and released her back home so she can hopefully breed and have lots of kids. Then and maybe then, I might keep one again.
Moving on
As saddening as the loss of both of them is, I am determined to keep SWDC running. Caring for these little spiders is really the joy of my day, and I love coming home to their antics every day. The house is a little quieter now, but Coffee still is by my side day and night keeping me company.
My next phase of planning will probably involve a complete overhaul of the SWDC office. The morning sun comes in through the window of the left side everyday, so my first plan is to move my entire workstation to the right. This means that my next spider can have a nice, sunny spot to built her web.
The second plan is to remove the carpet and replace it with waterproof vinyl. I will move the wooden cabinets to the further end, away from the web-building corner. That will mean that I can probably get away with misting the spider more and keeping that corner a little more humid.
All these are plans for my next orbweaver, but for now it's all in the planning stages as I really do not have the heart to destroy Coffee's home and move her. That'll give me a bit more time to come up with a good design for a room where human, technology and spider can live together happily.
So for now, all you're going to be seeing is pictures of Coffee getting fat. I may have a new employee coming up, but I'll update y'all on that in a few days.
Coffee the new CEO
With things as they are, Coffee is now the new CEO of SWDC! I just observed a wild Nephilengys malabrensis (very possibly Skittles' kid) who has had 2 eggsacs already. I'm so happy the little population is doing well! But that particular specimen is smaller than Coffee, so I realised that Coffee might actually already be mature, which is why she isn't molting. It's strange though, because Skittles is much, much larger than them both. Perhaps they will have one or two post-maturity molts, but for now there is an urgency to find Coffee a mate. I have 2 babies with me that I am hoping might turn out to be male, or I might have to capture one.
That's about it for the update, it's a really wordy update with very little pictures because to be honest, I was not really in the mood to take pictures with all that was happening. But I'll see you again soon!