Tuesday, August 16, 2016

#133 - APPLE ON WIDOWS

John Apple does love his true spiders. And not just the active hunters that people like me admire. By that, I mean that – for the most part – the araneomorphs that interest me aren't the ones who sit in webs and snare their prey. I like saltis – jumping spiders of the family Salticidae. I like wanderers – the dangerous Phoneutria and the less lethal Cupiennius. I like huntsmen – Heteropoda, Olios and their kin. I even like wolf spiders or any spider that doesn't use silk to trap. They say poison is a woman's weapon, and men kill with spear, sword, arrow, bullet, or just their bloody hands. I guess that's how I feel about spiders. I think snaring is less "courageous" than ambushing like a theraphosid. Our man Apple likes them all, even the common things you find in your cellar. He especially like widow spiders (Latrodectus) and has even named his beloved dog "Latro".

He recently commented on one of my blog entries, but I expect that few readers of this blog who don't comment ever see the comment section. So I have taken the liberty to re-write what he posted when I asked him to convince me that widows were interesting at all. He had mentioned other "comb-footed spiders" being interesting and I challenged him to make his case even for the more "glamorous" widows, which belong to the most recognizable genus (Latrodectus) of the therids, or members of the family Theridiidae (also known as tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders or comb-footed spiders).

Here is John's comment as slightly edited by me:

Latrodectus geometricus will make a scaffold many feet away from the lair, which is something I noticed from some Florida specimens. I was looking for the builder of the scaffold only to find a seven foot strand leading to the female L. geometricus and her lair. This was a bit of a "where is the spider?" thing I had going on, and I returned that evening and found the spider. I teased her and watched her run all the way back to the lair. Also, unlike many other Latrodectus, they will just drop out of the web and hit the ground curled up like Parasteatoda species (another comb-footed or therid genus).

Latrodectus bishopi constructs a large web that is somewhat upside down, meaning that even though there is still a bit of a scaffold below they also catch the beetles feeding on palmetto flowers. Both slings and juveniles construct a very nice normal scaffold.

Latrodectus mactans (see photo below) and L. hesperus will kick a glob of sticky webbing at you to defend the lair. My presumption here is that this is a good shrew and mouse repellent.

L. hesperus "mexicanus" is now called the harlequin widow and will be elevated to full species status. This widow maintains juvenile coloration as adults and males are larger than those of L. hesperus. They are simply stunning spiders.

Latrodectus hasseltii, the Aussie redback, is small like our northern L. various (the southern populations of L. variolus are quite large).



John lectured on true spiders at my ArachnoGathering in Tinley Park, Illinois. If you haven't watched the video on my YouTube channel click here to view.


Thursday, August 11, 2016

#132 - SPIDER TALK

I'm like an STD that just lingers ... chickenpox that becomes shingles, an itch that becomes a puss-oozing boil. I just won't go the fuck away.

The 159 posts of KMBHS have 33,352 page views. That's an average of 200 per post. More recent numbers are dismal, but that's my own fault as my frequency of blogging here has diminished. By contrast, my new Triggercontrol Tactical blog has 1343 page views for 11 posts. 122 per.

I don't require a lot of feedback. I enjoy comments, but other than Apple they are few and far between. I blog for myself. I like to hear myself type. I'm a quiet guy, even anti-social, but have diarrhea of the fingers. So this has always been about me.

But feedback does encourage, and I just got some praise that was all I needed to post again, not even an hour after a post that may have seemed like a farewell. The person with the kind words saw my post about the blog on Instagram despite following only six people and having no posts or followers of his own. He commented that he doesn't typically read blogs, but "KMBHS blog is kick ass, whether you are talking about tarantulas or going on rants it's just an awesome read". Cheers mate. Just for you, Cody, I will post something–on topic–here.


Here is some SPIDER Talk: This is a special blog version of the article I co-authored with Tom Patterson for the Journal of the British Tarantula Society 31(1). I'll add only a few of the articles images here and only my own. Thus, the figure numbers in the original article are irrelevant for this version and have been deleted. Only BTS Members with access to the print Journal or PDF version can enjoy the many beautiful photos Tom and I shared with this article.

I'll remind you that this is just one example of the quality content that our BTS publications enjoy, and urge you once more to consider membership. If money is tight just get a digital membership and download the Journals and Newsletters as PDF.

By the way, you can download an abridged list of my publications here.




Huntsman Spiders of the genus Heteropoda (Sparassidae) in Captivity

Text and images by Michael Jacobi & Tom Patterson


Introduction

Who doesn’t love spiders that can seemingly teleport? In the blink of an eye, most keepers of huntsman spiders have had the experience of a blurry streak of spider vacating its enclosure and appearing seconds later in the opposite corner of the room or beyond. Human reflexes are no match for containing the flurry of a spirited spider at hyper speed. Who isn’t enchanted by the myriad of colours and patterns adorning the crab-like resting pose of many sparassids? One was even named after superstar David Bowie due to having facial makeup that would make the king of glam rock blush. The popular name for these spiders itself conjures images of a master marauder. Huntsman. Stalker, assailant, attacker. Those whose arachnocultural pursuits tend towards the predatory tarantula spiders may find spiders that snare their prey in silken traps less appealing, but the fast and efficient assault of the huntsman spider is certain to captivate.

The family Sparassidae Bertkau, 1872 consists of 85 genera. This article will limit itself to Heteropoda Latreille, 1804, which contains an astonishing 197 species (World Spider Catalog, 2015), and a tome could be devoted to this genus alone. However, Heteropoda isn’t even the largest genus of Sparassidae. Its cousin, Olios, is found worldwide and currently is home to 244 species. The evolutionary success of the huntsman spiders is astounding.

Heteropoda is Asian and Australasian in distribution, but the cosmotropical H. venatoria has been introduced elsewhere. We believe that the spider marketed as “Heteropoda sp. Cameroon Giant” is a large form of H. venatoria. The genus does not naturally occur in Africa. In the United States, H. venatoria populations are succeeding in subtropical areas of Florida, Texas, and California, and in some coastal areas of Georgia and South Carolina. Three species currently listed as Heteropoda (World Spider Catalog, 2015) from South America (two from Colombia and one from Peru) are certainly misidentified and misplaced. One of the Colombian species, H. camelia, has already been treated as misplaced by Jäger, 2014.

Clearly tackling a genus so diverse and extensive is a daunting task. In this article we wish to just highlight a handful of Heteropoda species and undescribed forms that we have worked with in captivity and treat you to some stunning images that illustrate the beauty of these huntsman spiders. We will provide some tips and tricks helpful in maintaining and breeding these amazing spiders in the terrarium while providing some brief comments on their natural history.

Natural History Notes

With such a large genus occurring from Afghanistan through the Indian subcontinent, Asia, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Borneo, Australasia, the Pacific Islands and beyond, it is no surprise that Heteropoda fills many niches from caves to rainforest canopy. Throughout its tropical distribution it has acquired a number of vernacular names, and, in English, they are sometimes referred to as crab spiders (not to be confused with the “real” crab spiders of the family Thomisidae) due to their crab-like habitus, and also as cane spiders, banana spiders and, of course, huntsman spiders. They are active predators that possess potent venom that is effective against their prey (in addition to insects they are known to consume scorpions and even bats), but none are thought to be dangerous to humans. Among their interesting traits at least one species has the ability to produce sound without the stridulatory organs used in some theraphosid spiders (Rovner, 1980). During its courtship behaviour, a male Heteropoda venatoria can create a faintly audible buzz or hum by the vibration of its long legs while its feet (tarsi) remain in contact with the substrate.

Challenges in Husbandry

The biggest hurdle to overcome when maintaining Heteropoda and other sparassids is their blinding speed and how quickly a disturbance can initiate a flight response that results in an escaped spider. There are some recommended protocols that should be used to contain their apparent “teleportation”. An adult that is housed in a spacious and well-planted natural terrarium should be able to be offered food and have routine maintenance tasks performed without any difficulty. You just have to ensure that you gently open the terrarium and keep disturbance to a minimum. However, spiderlings and juveniles that are being reared in smaller containers like vials or gallon jars present the greater problem. The senior author always, without fail, opens these containers only inside of a large tub that acts as a secondary containment enclosure should the spider launch itself to freedom. More often than not, this larger tub is placed on the floor of a shower stall that has white walls. The shower stall now acts as a third level of containment. Of course, catch cups or jars are always at the ready, as are paintbrushes and rubber-tipped forceps that can be used to direct the spider’s route of travel. Whenever possible the containment vessels should be white, smooth and free of crevices or hiding places. The white background is essential for quickly finding escapees before they “teleport” meters away. We cannot stress enough how a single distraction that breaks eye contact and a huntsman spider can, presto, vanish. All escape routes must be eliminated or managed.

Another difficulty presented in raising young Heteropoda is that they require small food that is provided more often than tarantula keepers are accustomed to. Spiderlings should be fed almost daily with several times each week being a minimum frequency. Newly hatched (pinhead) crickets are preferred as these can be gut-loaded with quality feed for maximum nutrition value before being offered as prey. Flightless fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster and then the larger D. hydei) can be used, and they certainly are easy and economical to culture. However, if they are cultured using “old school” potato flake and powdered sugar mixes they provide minimal nutrition to their predators. Modern fruit fly media used by dart frog keepers is preferred, and the best media is very nutritious and, thus, the flies are healthy meals for your spiders. We also recommend dusting the flies with a supplement. This serves two purposes: at the minimum it limits fly movement so they are easier for you to contain during feeding and easier for the spiders to immediately capture, and it may even provide increased nutritional value. The latter is debatable, and perhaps doubtful based on how spiders feed, but it certainly can’t hurt. The senior author uses Repashy SuperVite micro-fine vitamin supplement as do other sparassid keepers and breeders (e.g., Frank Somma, pers. comm.). The fruit fly media used is Josh’s Frogs special blend, but we are sure there is similar vitamin-packed fly media available in the UK and Europe.

Frank Somma (pers. comm.) has successfully raised Heteropoda spiderlings communally in an enclosure that includes a small fruit fly culture that has a hole that allows the flies to escape so that the baby huntsman spiders can feed at will. Cannibalisation will be experienced in any group enclosures, but this will reduce the number of weak spiderlings and, with food being abundant, a method like Frank’s will result in vigorous young that grow quickly.

An additional difficulty is that young sparassids often require elevated humidity that would be ill advised for most tarantula species. Stagnant, wet conditions will kill tarantulas and sparassids alike, but whereas we preach “ventilate, ventilate, ventilate!” and feel that poor ventilation kills most tarantula spiderlings, we are known to raise Heteropoda spiderlings in large vials without any ventilation. The senior author has used 50-dram clear styrene vials (inside height: 4.25 in or 10.8 cm; inside diameter: 1.875 in or 4.763 cm) without any ventilation holes in the lids to raise baby huntsman spiders. This prevents fruit fly prey from escaping and keeps in essential moisture. However, feeding every other day ensures that there is plenty of fresh air exchange (and more frequent openings of the vial may be performed as necessary) and a careful balance is achieved between “too wet” and “too dry” This is the result of experience and frequent attention to the moisture cycle.

Sparassid Enclosures

Young huntsman spiders are easily raised in a series of progressively larger cups familiar to all arachnoculturists. An adult huntsman spider can be housed in a vertically oriented 10-gallon aquarium with a polycarbonate front. What would have been the top opening is now the front-facing opening, and this is typically covered a clear acrylic or polycarbonate panel that is hinged at the bottom third and has one or more screen vents set into round holes. This style of terrarium is popular among dart frog keepers and readily adaptable to arachnoculture. They also will fare well in translucent plastic storage containers that have been appropriately ventilated. A very simple and effective enclosure can be created with one of these inexpensive containers with the addition of some damp substrate and a piece of cork bark. The addition of a length of silk or plastic plant may be aesthetically pleasing, but the easier you make it for your huntsman spider to hide the greater your chance of not knowing where it is when you take off the lid to offer food. Remember that whole teleportation thing?

An Overview of Courtship, Mating and Reproduction

Sparassid spiders typically have a lengthy courtship and the male is rarely attacked after mating. In fact, many huntsman spiders are found to live together in large colonies. The female Heteropoda sp. produces a flat, oval egg sac of white papery silk containing up to 200 eggs. Some large females, particularly in captivity, may produce even larger sacs. She then places it under bark or a rock and stands guard over it, without eating, for about three weeks. Some species instead protectively carry their egg sac beneath their bodies (e.g., H. venatoria). When nesting or guarding her egg sac the female can be quite aggressive, and will often rear up in a threat/defensive display if provoked.

Notes on Breeding

A simple breeding arena (aka “chamber”) can be created from a large storage container that includes a large slab of cork bark to create a “dance floor” for the mating pair and has enough room to place the female’s enclosure, or perhaps that of both male and female. The senior author uses a similar technique to pair Poecilotheria and other tarantula spiders.

The concept behind a breeding chamber is to provide a large and neutral area for the introduction of males and females. A large storage tub can easily contain both a cereal container style enclosure housing a female and a gallon jar holding a male. Both lids can be left on for a few days and the pair will become aware of each other via pheromones and, in the case of theraphosids, by courtship tapping. For sparassid spiders the junior author uses the procedure described here.

Once the female’s enclosure is placed in the breeding chamber the male is “gently” introduced.  In most cases, the lid is left on the female’s enclosure until the male has found a place within the chamber to settle down and get comfortable. This reduces the risk of a nervous male bolting right into an unsuspecting female’s container and eliciting a feeding response from her. Once the male has become accustomed to the breeding chamber and found a place to rest, the lid of the female’s enclosure is carefully removed and the lid that covers the breeding chamber is securely fastened. Copulation is rarely observed, and males generally don't begin courtship ritual until the room has been dark for some time. The following day the male is removed and placed back into his enclosure. Experience has shown that a single night of cohabitation will result in mating and multiple pairings are unnecessary.  

Females are heavily fed during the weeks after mating to prepare them for egg sac production. About three weeks after the female produces her sac, her enclosure is moved into a larger airtight container in anticipation of a couple hundred fast-moving huntsman spiderlings escaping the airs of the adult female’s enclosure. On some occasions, the sac is pulled and incubated in a 32 oz. (one liter) cup with some damp peat moss or coco fiber on the bottom. Once the spiderlings hatch and are ready to be separated, rehousing them into individual vials still needs to be done over a larger bin with a tight fitting lid, as the babies will start to scatter once the lid of the incubator cup is removed. Only as many spiderlings as can be reasonably cared for are separated into vials. Others are traded to breeder friends or offered for sale. Any remaining spiderlings are left in the incubator cup to cull each other, and then the largest and strongest surviving ones are eventually separated from there. That may sound cruel, but is the reality of hatching hundreds to thousands baby sparassids each year. Raising spiderlings of huntsman or wandering spiders is more time consuming and labor intensive than raising young tarantulas. They require more frequent feedings, require more caution during feeding to prevent escapes and demand small prey that presents its own problems.

Some Popular Species

Heteropoda boiei (Doleschall, 1859)
This is a giant species of Heteropoda with females reaching a body length of 37 mm [1.5 in]. Known from Singapore, Malaysia, Sumatra, Java and Brunei, it is largely arboreal and normally found on rainforest tree trunks.

Heteropoda davidbowie Jäger, 2008
There is perhaps no huntsman spider more spectacular than Heteropoda davidbowie. This species is known from Thailand (Yala), Malaysia (Padang), Singapore and Indonesia (Sumatra) and was given the rock star legend's name by Jäger in 2008. Females may vary from grayish-brown to orange. Males have a median longitudinal reddish line that runs from the eyes to the middle of the abdomen.

Heteropoda davidbowie, penultimate male

Heteropoda lunula (Doleschall, 1857)
As splendid and spectacular as H. davidbowie is, it could be argued that no Heteropoda species is more gorgeous than H. lunula. Doleschall described the species as Olios lunula in 1857. It is known from India to Vietnam, Malaysia, Java, Sumatra and Borneo. Taxonomically, it was transferred to many different genera and species over the years until Jäger reestablished called it Heteropoda lunula in 2002.

Heteropoda lunula

Heteropoda tetrica Thorell, 1897
This species is primarily a creature of the forest floor, but can also be found at the bottom of tree trunks and among low branches. It is a large species that is widespread in Southeast Asia. It is highly variable in appearance, but is popularly known as the “Black Jaw Huntsman” due to its black chelicerae. This species varies greatly in both size and colour and pattern from one locality to another (Euseman and Jäger, 2009). For example, the spider recently known in arachnoculture as Heteropoda sp. “Borneo yellow” is, in fact, H. tetrica.

Heteropoda venatoria (Linnaeus, 1767)
This pantropical species is for many arachnoculturist’s the first introduction to the world of huntsman spider husbandry. It is often found in homes and barns throughout its range, but also can be found in gardens and on tree trunks. Females have a white band across their clypeus (face) and carry their flat disc-shaped egg sac under the body.

Heteropoda venatoria, adult female - Phetchaburi, Thailand

A number of “new species” have recently arrived in arachnocultural collections. These include the “Malaysian Burgundy” and “Sumatra Violet”. All of the above species and new forms are being bred in captivity and becoming increasingly more available. Additionally, other sparassid taxa are increasingly kept and bred. For example, the Cameroon, Africa species Barylestis scutatus has become established in American and European breeding collections.

Summary

There is a great allure to these swift and diverse predators. If you’re drawn to tarantula keeping because of their ambush hunting, you’ll be fascinated by the stealthy habits of the huntsman spiders and their warp speed attacks. They don’t share the longevity of theraphosid spiders and most live only two or three years. However brief it is, a huntsman spider’s lifetime offers wonders for those who observe, and beauty for those who look.

There’s even a species called Heteropoda jacobii Strand, 1911. However, since the senior author wasn’t born for another fifty-plus years and his Transylvanian father’s name was spelled “Jakobi” until he reached America, this spider honours some other bloke of no relation. Since this precludes a Heteropoda ever being named after him, Michael hopes to discover a new Olios species instead.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank their mutual friends John Apple and Frank Somma for information sharing, provided specimens, and breeding loans of many true spiders including the sparassids covered in this article. Both gentlemen were interviewed for contributions to this article.

References

Bertkau, P. 1872. Über die Respirationsorgane der Araneen. Archiv für Naturgeschichte 38: 208-233.

Doleschall, L. 1857. Bijdrage tot de Kenntis der Arachniden van den Indischen Archipel. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch-Indie 13: 339-434.

Doleschall, L. 1859. Tweede Bijdrage tot de Kenntis der Arachniden van den Indischen Archipel. Acta Societatis Scientiarum Indica-Neerlandica 5: 1-60.

Eusemann, P. & P. Jäger. 2009. Heteropoda tetrica Thorell, 1897 – variation and biogeography, with emphasis on copulatory organs (Araneae: Sparassidae). Contrib. Nat. Hist. 12: 499–516.

Florida Nature. 2004. Heteropoda venatoria, Huntsman Spider. http://flnature.org/species.asp?species=Heteropoda_venatoria. (Accessed 20 November 2015).

Jãger, P. 1999. Sparassidae - the valid scientific name for the huntsman spiders (Arachnida: Araneae). Arachnologische Mitteilungen 17: 1-10.

Jäger, P. 2001. Diversität der Riesenkrabbenspinnen im Himalaya -- die Radiation zweier Gattungen in den Schneetropen (Araneae, Sparassidae, Heteropodinae). Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 232: 1-136.

Jäger, P. 2002. Heteropodinae: transfers and synonymies (Arachnida: Araneae: Sparassidae). Acta Arachnologica, Tokyo 51: 33-61.

Jäger, P. 2014. Heteropoda Latreille, 1804: new species, synonymies, transfers and records (Araneae: Sparassidae: Heteropodinae). Arthropoda Selecta 23(2): 145-188.

Latreille, P.A. 1804. Histoire naturelle générale et particulière des Crustacés et des Insectes. Paris 7, 144-305.

Rovner, J.S. 1980. Vibration in Heteropoda venatoria (Sparassidae): a third method of sound production in spiders. Journal of Arachnology 8, 193-200.

Strand, E. 1911. Spinnentiere aus Neu-Guinea (Opiliones, Psechridae und Clubionidae) gesammelt von Dr. Schlaginhaufen. Abhandlungen und Berichte des Königlich-Zoologischen und Anthropologisch-Ethnografischen Museums zu Dresden 13(5): 1-16.

Thorell, T. 1897. Araneae paucae Asiae australis. Bihang till Kungliga Svenska Vetenskaps-Akademiens Handlingar 22(6): 1-36.


World Spider Catalog. 2015. http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/genus/3115/Heteropoda (accessed 20 November 2015).

#131 - WHATEVER

It's been awhile and I don't know where to begin. I s'pose I should start as close to "on topic" as possible and talk spider, and then meander, circumambulate and deviate as I digress and circumlocute and ramble. I wish not to write of kissing, and I'd rather not repulse you with discussions of my big and hairy. That leaves us with "spider".

Spider

Journal of the BTS 31(2)
The only recent occurrences that lend themselves to spider talk are the just released Volume 31 and Number 2 of the Journal of the British Tarantula Society. Although I proofread and edited the three issues of Volume 30, and unofficially took over with 30(3), it wasn't until 31(1) at the beginning of this year that I was the official Editor. One of my terms of taking over the editorship was that I also would take over the design and layout, but we had overflow from 30(3) and 31(1) came to me partially typeset. It thus had some flavor of my predecessor. With the issue that landed on UK doormats and in their quaint little letterboxes last week before spreading to Europe and beyond, including arrival in my mailbox on Tuesday afternoon, we finally have an issue that is all me. Of course, it is mine only by design, typeset and rewrite. I have the authors Ray Gabriel, Eddy Hijmensen, my dear mates Guy Tansley (article on Costa Rican honeymoon tarantula hunting) and Chad Campbell (centerfold pictorial), my Hungarian friends Maria and the two Laszlos (husband "Laci" and brother "Dudu"), and a closing piece by Sherwood, Longhorn and Kirby to thank for the content. For those of you who are not members please consider joining. Thanks to Brexit the UK pound is low against the dollar and membership is as cheap as it ever will be for Americans. Do it. For those of you who have yet to renew: what the hell are you waiting for? A personal invitation? Consider this it.

My last post had my list of stragglers as I try to finally sell ALL remaining tarantulas. The experience hasn't been great. It has been a reminder of the part of peddling critters all my life that sucked. I enjoyed my charges, and found births and hatchings rewarding. It wasn't all bad, and almost everything related to the creatures themselves was wonderful. That's what kept me going. It's the people that always suck. It has been no different of late. The necessity of logging into Arachnoboards reminded me quickly. As I have bemoaned before, ad nauseum, spider buyers are particularly vexatious. One guy asked for a lower price on what would only be a $150 purchase. It took me a day and a half to get back to him as I had to recall my asking price and had been away a bit for my birthday week. Two days later he said he had spent the money, and was disappointed that he couldn't take advantage of my great offer. Dude, if you don't have a spare $150 you shouldn't be buying fucking bugs. Another asked for a payment plan on a more expensive spider. Where most write brusque, semi-literate inquiries, his was well-worded and polite. I agreed. Never heard from him again. Been there, done that, already have far too many fucking t-shirts. So, we plod on. If any of you want a steal on any spiders I give special blog reader discounts and extra special pick up in person discounts.

That's the end of my spider talk. Perhaps forever. Or not. ;)

You see this blog seems to have come to an end, but I do have arachnid projects in the works that may keep this going. We are at number #131, plus the original 15 of 2008. There were more than 113 posts in 2015; the heyday of Kiss My Big Hairy Spider. This will be the 30th of 2016. Yeah, I know, the numbers don't add up. There were some with part A and part B, etc.

I recently dispatched my The Tarantula Bibliography and the online version of Arachnoculture into the discarded planetary dust of cyberspace. TTB is gone forever, but some day I may compile all seven issues of Arachnoculture into an e-Book. The Tarantula Bibliography had been loads of work over 11 years or so, but I gave little thought to ceasing publishing it. I can't be bothered. I also vaporized my fourth incarnation of the cesspool wasteland that is Faffbook. It was created only for a business page and then obliterated forever thanks to some nonsense related to The British Tarantula Society. I will never log in again, have deactivated again, and Facebook and the biting gnats that live there can Kiss My Big Hairy Spider. Fuck Facebook too; with its ridiculous rules, policies, censorship, content theft and invasive politics.

My ExoticFauna.com now stands as a single web page that honors my past work and leads people to my photography at SmugMug and Instagram. The latter is a better way for me to connect. Although a devotee of the written word, my photos and brief descriptions and hashtags speak volumes about my life and its pursuits.

Do I have any KMBHS posts left in me? Well, my work for the BTS will run at least through this membership year and perhaps beyond. If I stick to the Journal and Newsletter and keep my nose out things like membership, FB, website and such, I may carry on. That is, if I isolate myself from the membership and deal only with the authors and photographers, and I leave the politics of the society and the other swine diarrhea to the Brits, I see no reason to abandon the fine Journal. If there is one thing I have learned of late, it's that I am decidedly American – a stereotype even: alpha male, aggro, type A, impatient, unyielding. The Brits are very British. I have some great friendships within the BTS that I will not endanger. Thus, I choose to distance myself from the running of the organization. I'll keep my opinions to myself. One twat on FB had the nerve to suggest that an American is running the BTS. What a laugh. But I won't tarnish the Brit society with my American personality any longer. I'll do my editorial duty as promised, for at least the two issues of the Journal that remain in this membership year. I make no promises for continued attendance at the Lectures and Exhibition, although the former is likely because 1) my best mates and second family are there in Bristol, 2) Bristol is my lovely home away from whatever passes for home here and 3) it is a great time and the best chance to interact with the upper echelon of the arachnocultural world. The Exhibition is less desirable to me because 1) I don't keep, trade or buy spiders anymore, 2) it is fucking work and who wants to spend thousands to spend the day missing the event and 3) I'd rather just see the larger group of people at the Lectures and have any supplemental UK trips just be about spending time with my Bristolian friends and family or the Hales of Polegate.

So, I suppose I will occasionally post here when I have something to say about my BTS publications or my field trips. I have little left to say about arachnoculture. But who will read a blog that has four posts a year? And who does anyway? I'm averaging less than 40 view for my last handful of posts. This thing may have run its course. Then again, I have more field work than just my annual exotic field trips in me. Soon I may spend a lot of time chasing arachnids and herps in the U.S. That would drive content now wouldn't it?

The truth is that I am, first and foremost, a writer. I love blogging. I have created a second blog for my new business, but that hasn't been enjoyable and I haven't been prolific. The nice thing about KMBHS is that I never gave a fuck about marketing myself. I didn't avoid offending; I went out of my way to provoke, antagonize, and anger. I called a fucktard a fucktard, without pulling my punch or worrying about professional image. I can't do that elsewhere. However, I don't need to incite to write. It's been fun, but I must move on.

To that end, I have created yet another blog. I'm hoping some of my KMBHS readers will end up following it and enjoying my stories. I have begun to write for it, but I am not ready to post and launch. All I'll say is that it will be dedicated to my exotic and domestic travel. @jacobipix on Instagram is a much better way of following my photos, but it will have photos in every post and bring you with me as my journeys continue. More on that to come ...

Chad and I at Indeed Brewing Company, Northeast (Minneapolis)
In closing, I'd like to say that my 52nd birthday has come and gone with little fanfare just as I like it. I had one dinner with my sister, brother-in-law and stepfather two days beforehand, and another dinner with my stepfather alone on the day itself (August 5). The following day I drove up to Minneapolis to see my bud Chad. I picked up the 420mm lens (300 + 1.4x teleconverter) I had bought from him and we chased ospreys and Cooper's Hawk. With beer. After that adventure we had an early pub dinner and then started a Northeast brewpub tour starting with Sociable Cider Werks where his new gal pal works. I had a Stout Apple cider that, tbh, was tough to finish. I'm not a cider guy. We then hit my favorite MN brewery Indeed and met up with his friend Javi. Unfortunately, they had sold out of the Derailed Imperial Double Dangerous Chocolate Nitro Whiskey Queen Milk Stout (D.I.D.D.C.N.W.Q.M.S) that I love so much. We pushed on to Able, back to Indeed and then had a nightcap at Dangerous Man where I capped off the night with a delicious Peanut Butter Porter. I could go for one of those right now ... I had drank my share of whiskey the day before for my birthday and then woke at 5 a.m. to drive the 5 1/2 hours to Minnie so I was exhausted. I was actually surprised I made it to last call – midnight at Dangerous Man. I dropped Chad back off at Sociable to hook up with April and made my way back to my hotel. At daybreak I was on my way home.

Pix from Minnie are, of course, on my Instagram. It's the best social media. Just do it. I also have posted photos I took this morning at Chain O'Lakes State Park. I sleep very bizarre hours and was out of bed at 3 a.m. I could have sat in the dark pulling my pud, but decided to instead grab my camera bag and watched the sunrise over the wetland prairie of northern Illinois.

Day breaks on the wetland prairie at Chain O'Lakes State Park


All the best, MJ

PS: Don't forget my Free Movie offer from KMBHS #128. While you're at my YouTube channel you can watch other vids like my 95-minute instructional film, Tarantulas in the Terrarium.