I just saw a pic on Instagram of Pomeranian-Husky dogs. Dog people don't give one shit about my recent blog on cross-breeding. Run of the mill mutts are healthier and live longer because they aren't in-bred/ line pure-bred, but these weirdos are Frankensteining some bizarre canines on purpose to create boutique freaks. Twats.
Twat is another great British term. I used it in my last blog and it might have caught you off guard. I used in their way. It doesn't rhyme with hot like here in America, and isn't a vulgar term for female genitalia. It rhymes with hat and is used as we would use jerk or idiot or douchenozzle.
Adopt dogs from shelters. Don't buy freaks or support puppy mills.
I don't know why I keep mentioning my old friend Kelly Swift in this blog, but I do want to congratulate him on producing his 108th species of tarantula. I don't know if anyone can match this number. Alex Orleans and myself have bred a lot of tarantulas, but both of us have always been arboreal species specialists. I've never kept track of how many species I've bred, but if I took the time to go through a list I expect it would be closer to 50 - definitely nowhere near Kelly's astonishing 108! I've always produced quantity. I would be counting how many sacs of each Avic and Poec I've successfully produced, not how many different species. This guy is a machine and, as I urged in my recent blog, I hope you'll keep supporting him. He's one of the few good guys.
As long as I'm stroking him (are you getting close Swifty?!?), I also want to say that Kelly may not have been the first to offer freebies, but he is certainly the original "always a freebie" guy. I never really did the freebie thing out of respect to Kelly. There are so many fucking copycats. I see almost everyone is doing it now. In one regard it's a way to get rid of cheap species you can't move, but Swifty has given out some cool stuff - much of it bred by himself - over the years. I just saw some guy I've never heard of that actually is going by the name Tbreeders offering freebies and that's what made me think of this. "TBreeders" ?!? I'd love to know how many species this n00b has bred.
I don't know why I keep mentioning my old friend Kelly Swift in this blog, but I do want to congratulate him on producing his 108th species of tarantula. I don't know if anyone can match this number. Alex Orleans and myself have bred a lot of tarantulas, but both of us have always been arboreal species specialists. I've never kept track of how many species I've bred, but if I took the time to go through a list I expect it would be closer to 50 - definitely nowhere near Kelly's astonishing 108! I've always produced quantity. I would be counting how many sacs of each Avic and Poec I've successfully produced, not how many different species. This guy is a machine and, as I urged in my recent blog, I hope you'll keep supporting him. He's one of the few good guys.
As long as I'm stroking him (are you getting close Swifty?!?), I also want to say that Kelly may not have been the first to offer freebies, but he is certainly the original "always a freebie" guy. I never really did the freebie thing out of respect to Kelly. There are so many fucking copycats. I see almost everyone is doing it now. In one regard it's a way to get rid of cheap species you can't move, but Swifty has given out some cool stuff - much of it bred by himself - over the years. I just saw some guy I've never heard of that actually is going by the name Tbreeders offering freebies and that's what made me think of this. "TBreeders" ?!? I'd love to know how many species this n00b has bred.
I wonder what percentage of Sicarius sp. keepers are aware of their potential danger. I'm sure few of the twats realize that they're related to Loxosceles sp. (recluse spiders). Don't research, just make iPhone videos. I'm not going to make a big thing about these six-eyed sand spiders. Someone suggested I blog about the inherent danger and such since they have become increasingly popular due to their very interesting habits. John Apple's lecture at my 2nd ArachnoGathering gave a tip on how to keep these best that I will share here in order to educate anyone keeping these. Sicarius will cover themselves in sand in a clearing in their environment. So if you put detritus like moss and gravel and scattered coco fiber or something on the surface of their enclosure they will find or create a clearing and that is where they will be hiding. This makes it easier for you to avoid them during maintenance and enhances your personal safety.
I guess the reason I am not bent out of shape about all the Sicarius out there is that Leirus and other potentially deadly scorpions, even Parabuthus that can spray venom have been in the hobby for thirty years. They are a greater threat to your well being, but fortunately I've never heard any or many reports of people suffering envenomation from these dangerous scorps. These things are imported by reptile dealers and sold to pet stores who haven't a clue as to their potential danger. I remember 20-25 years ago they were particularly prevalent. The common name "death stalker" should have been a hint, but I shudder to think how many mom and pop pet stores bought these to sell to anyone with a couple of sawbucks in their pocket, both very likely completely ignorant that these scorpions pack a dose of death in their telson. So I don't get into too much of a huff about the sand spiders. But I hope this informs one person and they use Apple's method to increase their safety. In the end, this is why all arachnids are terrarium pets and you should keep the hell away from their business ends. And not just for your safety ... for their health and safety as well. Observe and enjoy. Study and research. Pet your damn dog or, if you must, play with your snake.
Still can't believe it's already July. Have more houseguests arriving today, this time old friends from Seattle who are coming to see the Dead shows at Soldier Field, and - coincidentally - my youngest sister is also visiting from Seattle and will be staying with me after them. I'm hoping to see her Friday night.
I miss Seattle. Every day I saw the ocean. I lived in Edmonds, right on the coast of the Puget Sound twenty miles north of Seattle. Across the sound I saw mountains. To the east I saw mountains. On a clear day to the south I saw the giant Mount Rainier. I was surrounded by evergreen. It was hoodie and shorts weather every day. Rarely colder than 40 and rarely warmer than 75-80ºF. Yes, winter brings five months of grey skies and it can be depressing. The rain is misunderstood. There aren't downpours or thunderstorms. It just mists and pisses. I loved it.
But I also love my house and my little country town. I'm more settled than I've ever been. That's a good thing. The winters are brutal and I'm no fan of the heat in summer either. But Chicago is my favorite city in the world and on a good day I can make downtown in an hour. And I love my Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks.
I just won some beautiful art in an auction Urban Jungles Radio held with proceeds going to International Anti Poaching Foundation. It is an amazing portrait of beautiful young actress Emma Stone by Canadian artist and herper Yvonne Bolduc. I've always been a sucker for freckles and red hair. That explains my six year foray into marriage. Thing is, if I hang it on my wall it's going to be a tough sell that I have beautiful art of a beautiful face and am not just perving on a girl half my age. I may have to hang a sign beneath that says "only displaying this young beauty to contribute to armed rangers fighting against rhino poaching". I don't know if I'll fool anyone.
Today I finally saw the film American Sniper on Blu-Ray. I've read the book a couple of times and have also read Chris Kyle's American Guns and followed his career so I knew the story well. He is a true American hero. I was reluctant about the film and didn't see it in the theater because I thought Bradley Cooper was an odd choice. I couldn't get the whole The Hangover image out of my mind despite how brilliant he was in American Hustle. But he was amazing and so was Clint Eastwood's direction. I loved how it ended with just simply stated words telling the tragic end to his life, killed by a veteran he was trying to help on American soil after surviving four tours in Iraq.
My next blog will be back on topic. It's going to be a busy weekend so it may take a few days to write. I have a few rants in mind and I also want to keep up the balance with educational posts on tarantula keeping and breeding. But Blog #29 is going to share some anecdotes and (hopefully) amusing stories from my travels in search of tarantula spiders in nature. Our field trips are great fun and hard work and there are many tales to tell.
In closing, I better give you the answer to the question I asked last blog. I promised the answer at the end and then completely spaced out giving it to you. So what is different about Avicularia versicolor? What feature does it have that no other Avicularia has? Why is it likely to be transferred to its own monotypic genus? You can download a PDF of Caroline Fukushima's doctoral thesis here. It has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, which is why the changes suggested are not official yet. It's been quite some time and I hope this work is finally published soon.
In this thesis you will see other changes, for example, grouping the Brazilian diversipes, sooretama and gamba in a new genus. I covered her paper a bit in my lecture at the American Tarantula Society conference last summer. But you can read it on your own. The question I have put forth to you is regarding the technicolor A. versicolor and why it is proposed that it will be moved to its own genus (by itself, aka monotypic). To quote: "In 2003, Bertani et al. observed that the species Avicularia versicolor Walckenaer 1837, unlike other Avicularia, played an active type II urticating bristles at the tips of tarsi IV, demonstrating that the structural modification of the variety is related to the behavior of these spiders." Other Avicularia use urticating bristles by contact only (passive) by touching their silken retreats (or egg sacs) to form a protective barrier of bristles. Any way, give this interesting paper and download and read. Dr. Fukushima is lecturing in Germany soon and I'd give anything to be there.
All the best, MJ
I guess the reason I am not bent out of shape about all the Sicarius out there is that Leirus and other potentially deadly scorpions, even Parabuthus that can spray venom have been in the hobby for thirty years. They are a greater threat to your well being, but fortunately I've never heard any or many reports of people suffering envenomation from these dangerous scorps. These things are imported by reptile dealers and sold to pet stores who haven't a clue as to their potential danger. I remember 20-25 years ago they were particularly prevalent. The common name "death stalker" should have been a hint, but I shudder to think how many mom and pop pet stores bought these to sell to anyone with a couple of sawbucks in their pocket, both very likely completely ignorant that these scorpions pack a dose of death in their telson. So I don't get into too much of a huff about the sand spiders. But I hope this informs one person and they use Apple's method to increase their safety. In the end, this is why all arachnids are terrarium pets and you should keep the hell away from their business ends. And not just for your safety ... for their health and safety as well. Observe and enjoy. Study and research. Pet your damn dog or, if you must, play with your snake.
Still can't believe it's already July. Have more houseguests arriving today, this time old friends from Seattle who are coming to see the Dead shows at Soldier Field, and - coincidentally - my youngest sister is also visiting from Seattle and will be staying with me after them. I'm hoping to see her Friday night.
I miss Seattle. Every day I saw the ocean. I lived in Edmonds, right on the coast of the Puget Sound twenty miles north of Seattle. Across the sound I saw mountains. To the east I saw mountains. On a clear day to the south I saw the giant Mount Rainier. I was surrounded by evergreen. It was hoodie and shorts weather every day. Rarely colder than 40 and rarely warmer than 75-80ºF. Yes, winter brings five months of grey skies and it can be depressing. The rain is misunderstood. There aren't downpours or thunderstorms. It just mists and pisses. I loved it.
But I also love my house and my little country town. I'm more settled than I've ever been. That's a good thing. The winters are brutal and I'm no fan of the heat in summer either. But Chicago is my favorite city in the world and on a good day I can make downtown in an hour. And I love my Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks.
Today I finally saw the film American Sniper on Blu-Ray. I've read the book a couple of times and have also read Chris Kyle's American Guns and followed his career so I knew the story well. He is a true American hero. I was reluctant about the film and didn't see it in the theater because I thought Bradley Cooper was an odd choice. I couldn't get the whole The Hangover image out of my mind despite how brilliant he was in American Hustle. But he was amazing and so was Clint Eastwood's direction. I loved how it ended with just simply stated words telling the tragic end to his life, killed by a veteran he was trying to help on American soil after surviving four tours in Iraq.
My next blog will be back on topic. It's going to be a busy weekend so it may take a few days to write. I have a few rants in mind and I also want to keep up the balance with educational posts on tarantula keeping and breeding. But Blog #29 is going to share some anecdotes and (hopefully) amusing stories from my travels in search of tarantula spiders in nature. Our field trips are great fun and hard work and there are many tales to tell.
In closing, I better give you the answer to the question I asked last blog. I promised the answer at the end and then completely spaced out giving it to you. So what is different about Avicularia versicolor? What feature does it have that no other Avicularia has? Why is it likely to be transferred to its own monotypic genus? You can download a PDF of Caroline Fukushima's doctoral thesis here. It has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, which is why the changes suggested are not official yet. It's been quite some time and I hope this work is finally published soon.
In this thesis you will see other changes, for example, grouping the Brazilian diversipes, sooretama and gamba in a new genus. I covered her paper a bit in my lecture at the American Tarantula Society conference last summer. But you can read it on your own. The question I have put forth to you is regarding the technicolor A. versicolor and why it is proposed that it will be moved to its own genus (by itself, aka monotypic). To quote: "In 2003, Bertani et al. observed that the species Avicularia versicolor Walckenaer 1837, unlike other Avicularia, played an active type II urticating bristles at the tips of tarsi IV, demonstrating that the structural modification of the variety is related to the behavior of these spiders." Other Avicularia use urticating bristles by contact only (passive) by touching their silken retreats (or egg sacs) to form a protective barrier of bristles. Any way, give this interesting paper and download and read. Dr. Fukushima is lecturing in Germany soon and I'd give anything to be there.
All the best, MJ
