My Bugs

Here are the tarantulas currently residing in my home, also known as “Arachnerd’s Arachnids“;

ELVIS:

Elvis is a Chilean Rosehair tarantula (Grammostola rosea). He is by far the most docile and gentle spider I’ve had in a long time. You can’t tell very well from the picture, but Roshairs have exactly that, rose or pink colored hair. Thier bodies are mostly brown, but the long hairs that stick out, especially on thier cepholathorax and legs are pink. They can be best seen right after molting and in a good lighting, neither of which were ture at the time of these pictures. Rosies are probably the most commonly sold spiders in pet stores across America. They’re quite easy to come by and are usually very well tempered. They make an excellent starter spider for anyone who’s looking to get into the hobby. My first T. was a Rosehair named “Precious”. Elvis spends most of his time in my wife’s Kindergarten classroom, but during the summer he resides on my computer desk.

ARETHA:

Another young Rosie that sits next to Elvis in the classroom. Okay, so that’s not an actual picture of her. But doesn’t she look smashing with that hat on her abdomen?

HERMOSA:

Hermosa (which is spanish for ‘beautiful’) is a Costa Rican Tigerrump tarantula (Cyclosternum fasciatum). Hermie is by far the smallest and most reclusive spider I have ever had – so getting her picture was even more challenging than Hillary! I eventually had to feed her & then snap these shots down through the entrance to her hiding place. If you look closely you can see the cricket in her clutches sticking out from under her body.

I guess it’s pretty obvious how the “Tigerrump” gets her name; It’s cepholathorax is solid bright orangish-red and it’s abdomen has those pretty tiger stripes as you can see in the picture above.

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R.I.P.

Precious: Chilean Rosehair (Gramastola rosea), My first tarantula. Bought for me as a gift by my roommate at the time, Denny.

Anastasia: Zebra Knee (Aphonopelma seemani), unfortunately deceased as a direct result of my poor craftsmanship. I tried to make a tight divider in one habitat so that she & Precious could live together… Precious thought she was delicious.

Sweetheart: Giant Whiteknee (Acanthoscurria geniculata), The biggest & most impressive spider I have ever owned. She was also very aggressive & right-down mean!

Baby: (nobody puts her in a corner!) Martinique Tree Spider [aka: Antilles Pink Toe] (Avicularia versicolor), hands down the prettiest & most colorful spider I have ever owned. The picture doesn’t do her justice. Also the only arboreal I’ve ever had – possibly the last as I prefer the terrestrial varieties.

Jesus: Mexican Redleg (Brachypelma emilia), a mail-order spider that arrived seemingly DOA. I left it in the enclosure anyway for a few weeks because it was so pretty even dead & it miraculously resurrected (hence the name)… for about a week & then it died again. So let it be known, DHL killed Jesus!

Priscilla: Another Rosehair that was given to my wife by a former student who could no longer take care of her. She & Elvis made a lovely couple.

Hillary: An Arkansas Chocolate tarantula (Aphonopelma baergi), the only tarantulas native to Arkansas. She was caught live for us by my wife’s coworker’s son in, where else, Arkansas.