#106 - POPPIN' IN

How y'all been? Sorry I haven't been out to play much lately. Thought I'd pop in and give you a life dump. My quietness is partially because I was on the road for 23 nights in February. I know most of you don't give a shit about my gun stuff and that's all I was up to. I have another blog for that. However, it was one hell of a scenic road trip so I hope many of you have been following my @exoticfauna Instagram. I posted loads of pix from my 5000 mile epic road trip.

Even in retirement I still have some involvement in arachnoculture. As you know, that is primarily through The British Tarantula Society, which I encourage you all - once again - to become a member of. Welcome to new or renewing American members including John Apple, Frank Somma and my bonus dad Joel Greenblatt. The budget option is online Journal only, but if you can swing the $55 or so you can also get three print issues sent to your home that are edited and produced by yours truly. I am happy to report that I am tonight putting the finishing touches on my first issue as Editor - 31(1) March 2016. One of the articles features Heteropoda and is co-authored by Tom Patterson and I.

Before I leave the subject of the BTS I must add that I leave Sunday for the Annual Lectures. I'm not speaking this year and have Joel with me so I'll be able to chill and really enjoy the weekend's festivities. The night before drinks is always a meeting of the minds when it comes to world tarantulaculture, and the Lectures never disappoint. Then Sunday we have our Committee Meeting, which is the Annual General Meeting and is open to the membership at large. Joel and I are stopping in Dublin before we get to Bristol and I'll revisit both Guinness and the home of my tipple – Jameson's Distillery. Then it's off to Bristol and Serious Ink. Mark will be finishing my right sleeve while his apprentice daughter Brandon recolors the Encyocratella olivacea tattoo that's on the inside of my right calf. Day trips to Wales and London will follow before the weekend and the Lecture arrives.

Now that I don't use Faffbook (full disclosure: I actually do have a page for my new business and the necessary personal account to maintain it, but that is the account's sole purpose and I am not accepting/seeking friends. Sorry), I am posting pix to Instagram and also maintaining my high resolution galleries at SmugMug. I hope you visit my SmugMug account every now and again. You can even order prints if you choose to hang my photography on your wall.

Screen cap of my Tarantula in Terrarium gallery at SmugMug. 152 photos and counting ...

I've also recently updated my The Tarantula Bibliography a few times for February. The revision co-authored by Andrew M. Smith and I resulted in numerous changes, but nothing compared to the complete United States Aphonopelma revision published by friends Chris Hamilton and Brent Hendrixon along with Jason Bond. Plus there are a couple of miscellaneous new genera like Bistriopelma and Neoholothele.

Although I still keep and will breed Harpactira pulchripes, Monocentropus balfouri and Poecilotheria subfusca, the two final never-been-bred-yet projects are "Monocentropus lambertoni" and Avicularia sooretama. I recently posted pix of the adult pair of A. sooretama on IG and SmugMug and will also share below.

Adult female Avicularia sooretama. © Michael Jacobi

Mature male Avicularia sooretama. © Michael Jacobi

Mature male Avicularia sooretama. © Michael Jacobi

Anyone who has ready any of my articles on arboreal tarantula husbandry - in print or online - or even that has followed Kiss My Big Hairy Spider is well aware that I often use a "breeding area" type of set up to pair both theraphosids and araneomorphs. Much of this technique has been devoted to the mass production of Avicularia and Poecilotheria over the years. The adults are housed in customized cereal containers or gallon jars depending on size and gender. Once it's time for the spiders to bump uglies both individual containers are placed inside a much larger tub. Generally, I allow them to settle in and feed and then only release the male so he can sniff about for a few days unmolested. The female is then fed again and extra food left in the breeding arena. A day or two later I open her enclosure too. They are free to mix and mingle as their schedule allows.

In the case of the pair of Avicularia sooretama, the male stayed in his gallon jar too long and had to be coaxed out. He then had free run of the place for a week or so. Even before I opened the female's nano ExoTerra terrarium I knew that she wasn't likely to leave her home. She has a very thick and secure tube sock in her terrarium and there's no reason for her to roam. I eventually tickled her out and removed both enclosures from the large "breeding arena" tub. I placed the live plant and cork bark pieces from the female's terrarium in one corner and put the terrarium light on the top of the breeding tub once I shut the lid. Then I remembered that I had a tub of terrarium plants in my living room that were removed from the enclosures of spiders long sold. I had a big tub of plants being rehabilitated a bit for possible reuse. So I decided I would just put them all in the "breeding arena" and the pair would end up with a communal mansion of sorts. That is where they remain.

The "breeding arena" A. sooretama mansion with two ExoTerra lamp fixtures.

The male likes to sit up here.

Inside. It's hard to see the cork in the back right corner, but that is where the female has built a new tube sock.

Close-up of the male Avicularia sooretama.

As for the other project – "Monocentropus lambertoni" – I should remind you that in an article in the BTS Journal two issues or so ago I questioned the validity of the ID of our hobby spider. Hence, the quotation marks. Regardless, I had a very rare male mature, and he bred with my only female many times. Unfortunately, she subsequently molted. However, the male is still alive even though he matured last May. He has successfully mated with her several more times, and I will try him again over the next few days. Sadly, he is destined for a spirit jar living on a shelf in England. I want this spider identified and he will be donated to African Theraphosidae specialist Richard Gallon. So, live or dead, he is traveling to Bristol with me. It is an easy decision to make only because I have a penultimate male here. If the mature male did not successfully transfer sperm at least I have a backup.


Well, that's it for now. Glad we could chat again. Please check out my @exoticfauna Instagram. There are loads of pix from Costa Rica, my road trip (Arches N.P., Grand Canyon N.P., Red Rock S.P./Sedona AZ, etc.), and starting Sunday there will be loads from my trip to the UK. I've lost count of how many times I've travelled to the UK since my first in 2006 - I think this will be 8 or 9? Bristol is my home away from home and the location of me mate Mark Pennell and his Serious Ink Tattoo Studio. Fucking stoked.

All the best, MJ

#6 - I DO LIKE MONDAYS

One of the many advantages of being self-employed (call it semi-retired if you wish) is that while all the sheeple curse the post-weekend alarm buzzing to tell them it is time to fight traffic to work, I sit here peacefully drinking my coffee and getting ready to go run errands in stores that are mostly empty. Sure there are the young housewives, but that's part of my enjoyment. I do enjoy beauty in my surroundings.

So, who is actually reading this thing? I've made it six days in a row and have zero feedback. My request for questions for "Sunday, fun day" has thus far been ignored. I can't figure out the Blogger analytics well enough to determine who is following/subscribed, but I do see an range of 50-80 reads of each post. Not stellar numbers, but certainly enough to encourage me to continue. As I said, this is therapeutic and I require therapy. The little pills I take to make me put on a happy face and not go berserk and rampage may not be enough. As they say, in the 60s the world was normal and people took illegal drugs to make it weird. Today the world is weird and I am just one of many who take legal drugs to make it seem normal. Of course, it is all big pharma's grand scheme. But as long as I feel good.

Two years and four months ago I lost the most important person in my life. My mother was my greatest champion. 6 months ago I lost the second most important relationship of my life - my dog Taylor who was by my side 24/7 for over 13 years and seemed to sense when I needed her most. The first tragedy forced my return to Chicagoland after 13 years away and I am still trying to adjust. The second tragedy has left me devastated.  The little pills help.

I'll close this little glimpse into my life with a happier note and then head out to the aforementioned errands. I'll post a second KMBHS blog later and return to arachnoculture and education. 

Looking forward to next week's houseguests (the Pennell family from Bristol, UK) and counting down the six days. Also back next week from a long stay in Peru will be my bud Jason and I'm having a little Friday night arachno-soirée that my mate Chad is coming down from MN for. Other guests will join us for a toast or two, which will be of the Jameson Black Barrel that Chad owes me from our bet on the Blackhawks and Wild playoff series. 

Finally, below the blogs is a place to leave me comments. Write something, show me I'm not writing to myself. Not that I mind the therapy. It's kinda like my diary although I spare you the soul-baring confessions of my fetishes and perversions and crushes and dreams. 

Have a lovely Monday, MJ

#5 - SUNDAY, FUN DAY

One week from today I will be picking up my dear friends the Pennell family at Chicago's Airport after their journey from Bristol on the southwest coast of England to Amsterdam and then a KLM direct flight into Chicago. I can't wait.

Mark always says "Sunday, Fun Day". He works hard operating his Serious Ink Tattoo Studio Tuesday to Saturday and then Sunday is meant for relaxation and a few cold Tiger beers.

For my blog I thought I'd lighten up on my usual blogs on Sundays and have a little more fun, covering other topics and avoiding my rants. One idea I had was to answer questions from my readers. This alone can keep some venom and controversy in the content. I will answer honestly, frankly and bluntly with no-holds-barred, complete gloves off bare knuckle responses. Vale tudo style (anything goes) for those who know fighting. I won't shy away from anything. There is one rule though: If I answer your question and stir up some shit, you must be willing to have your name published as the question's author. Email me at spidershoppe@icloud.com and next Sunday (assuming anyone bothers to submit) I'll answer some questions.

As an incentive for you to submit questions, I am offering a prize for my favorite question (may be the most controversial, may be the most intelligent, may be the most ridiculous - it's subjective). In the last blog I mentioned the incredible downloads available at Andrew Smith's lovetarantulas.com. Yesterday I bought two items from his site. I didn't need them. The first is my one hour documentary of our 2006 Costa Rica field trip. I made the film so I didn't need to buy it! However, in fairness, I wanted to show the same support for the site that I asked of you so I spent the $10 (that's right only $10 to download two fine products for the tarantula enthusiast!). I have the 720p HD version of my "In Search of Costa Rican Tarantulas" in three different file formats. The second item is "Baxter's Bumper Book of Tarantulas". I also didn't need another copy of this. I have early drafts and the final product as I was part of the editorial team. But this is a pioneering work on tarantula keeping and breeding by England's pioneer and a must for every true tarantula enthusiasts library. So, ask my favorite question, and I'll provide you with free copies of both!

As far as Sunday miscellany: 
1. I'm a huge hockey and diehard Chicago Blackhawks fan. Sadly, they lost 4-3 last night and the Stanley Cup Final is now tied at one game each. But a split of two road games is a good thing in hockey and I look forward to the return to the Madhouse on Madison for Game 3.
2. I have loads of spider feeding to do today. Keeping up with my collection is a 7 day a week job. It's a rainy, sleepy Sunday morning and I'm going to head out for some breakfast and then get a Netflix movie or three going while I work on the spiders.
3. My buddy Jason has been in Peru for over six months. He'll return while the Pennell's are here and I know he can't wait to be reunited with the spiders he left in my care. He did sell off much of his collection before he left, but has made some purchase while out of country and has a nice assortment here that I've been growing for him.

Send me your questions for next Sunday. I will reply with brutal honesty and characteristic truth. MJ