What I did while you people were chattin'

LaRiz

Arachnodemon
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Aug 7, 2002
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For some reason, I cannot chat. Same server, same empty space.
Anyways, I paired up Poecilotheria regalis (thanks Greg). Preparation consisted of placing the candidate female's 10 gal. enclosure, on top of another enclosure containing a previously thought immature female (this would help me to get a better shot off from my camera. The male was introduced. He went to town, drumming and audibly tapping. The female moved a bit, with his drumming, but didn't advance. The male continued to drum, down the inside, across the substrate, and back up the other side, pausing momentarily every few inches to court. I figured this is not right, he doesn't know where he's at. At that moment I heard some background drumming. The male was going back out and down to the second enclosure, where that female was returning a "call". Neato.
So I take off the top aquarium, trying not to disturb both courting lovers. Too late, female shoots to her corkbark, but the male advances. Female still interested, takes her time getting to him. I had the perfect shot; a ventral shot of a mating then, whoops, the male falls on the female. Female runs into the cork and is done. Male keeps drumming, but the female does not. So I remove the male for a future pairing, soon.
What would it be like to see one male in a dead tree full of females? How many females would respond to his drumming and come out to play?
The male is on the outside left of the top aquarium. The interested female is in the lower aquarium, top right. The uninterested female is between the cork slabs of the top enclosure.
john
 

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LaRiz

Arachnodemon
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Male still on the outside...

...looking for a way in, to get at that luscious and insatiable female. OK, maybe not insatiable.
:D
john
 

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atavuss

Arachnoprince
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ok, so why not let them stay together? is it because you have multiple females and want to spare him for the other females?
I have an adult female and male and am going to just let them stay together......after I fatten them both up.
Ed
 

LaRiz

Arachnodemon
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The moment just before the male bends the female backwards, goes in for the kill, and then falls on her.
I forgot to mention in the above pic, take note at the female's epigastric furrow and how it is dialated. In the past, I paired up Poecilotheria rufilata, and noticed this same dialation. It happened just before the male went in for the stab. Is that the male's que (how do you spell that?)?
john
 

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petitegreeneyes

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Sep 26, 2002
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:D WOW! So that is a male regalis. He almost looks like a gray version of the rufiliata in a way. The poor guy is so small compared to her, yet bless his heart he doesn't shy away. Well you go boy! Those are absolutely gorgeous pics, John.
 

LaRiz

Arachnodemon
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Hi Ed,

Originally posted by atavuss
ok, so why not let them stay together? is it because you have multiple females and want to spare him for the other females?
I have an adult female and male and am going to just let them stay together......after I fatten them both up.
Ed
I've done that before. With P. regalis, P. rufilata, and P. ornata. With the P. rufilata, the male lived with the female for a little more than a month, before I found his little tarantula "pelt".
Since, there wasn't an insemenation, I think it would be better to remove the male, and try again later. They, undoubtedly, would co-habitat together with no problems, as the female had already accepted him into her "area". Once, with that same, above mentioned P. rufilata, pre-maturity, when a male was near her, she advanced and snacked.
It's always better to actually watch a mating. Especially with Poecilotheria. They seem to take their time when gravid, to laid eggs. If you see it, you can record it and wait.
john
 

Joy

Priestess of Pulchra-tude
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Oct 12, 2002
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John, it looks as though you most gainfully employed even if you couldn't chat! Great pictures as always. I don't think I've ever seen a photo that showed more clearly the sexual dimorphism of this species. Good luck on the eggsac!

Joy
 

LaRiz

Arachnodemon
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Thanks for the nice words everbody...

Did you notice, in the second pic, how dialated the female's furrow is? It's so obvious.
john
 

Joy

Priestess of Pulchra-tude
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Yes, it is very noticeable, John. Are you on any of the Yahoo forums? Because Rick West was talking about this very thing a while back. Apparently both male and female spiders experience a surge in blood pressure while mating. It's that which empties the palpal bulbs (which he likened to fluid-filled balloons enclosed in a second fluid-filled chamber) and causes the swelling and gaping of the female's epigastric furrow, as shown in your picture. Tremendously interesting, I thought.

Joy
 

LaRiz

Arachnodemon
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Joy,

I am in the Yahoo! groups (Arachnid_pix, ATS_enthusiast, and Arachnid_world), but since I'm in other groups, (Jeeps, AR-15, and something else I can remember) I get swamped with emails. I had to unsubscribe to alot of them.
But, I didn't see the thread on that epigastric furrow thing. I never heard of it, until I saw my female P. rufilata do that just before she mated.
I asked some breeder friends about this, and they said, "really?". :)
john
 

Dasgre0g

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 22, 2002
Messages
46
There's my boy! Damn. He must have taken lessons in lovemaking from me.
Poor bastard.


Originally posted by LaRiz
The moment just before the male bends the female backwards, goes in for the kill, and then falls on her.
I forgot to mention in the above pic, take note at the female's epigastric furrow and how it is dialated. In the past, I paired up Poecilotheria rufilata, and noticed this same dialation. It happened just before the male went in for the stab. Is that the male's que (how do you spell that?)?
john
 

LaRiz

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Messages
672
Originally posted by Dasgre0g
There's my boy! Damn. He must have taken lessons in lovemaking from me.
Poor bastard.
Hah! Greg, at least he's persistant. Even after his clumsiness.
Your dude is a champ, I'll try him tonite with that same female, and then try him with another.
thanks buddy!
john
 
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