p.ornata female almost burrowing!!!

[Stuart Mitchell (stooka)]

hi i have a 4yr old female p.ornata who build her hideout against the side of the tank about 2inches into the peat.shes disguised it by having peat in her webbing.she has bark etc for her to web against but hasnt ever bothered.has anybody heard of this before?also wots the visual differences between grammostola cala and g.rosea?

[Ray Hale]

It snot unusual for arboreals to disguise their webs with detritus. My P.ornata does the same. In the wild they will utilise what they have and can often be found living where you you just wouldnt expect. A few years ago A.Smith found a Brachypelma smithi living in a bush.

For the differences try our gallery or some of the other excellent sites.

like.............. giantspiders or the tarantula store



Ray

[Neil Richardson]

My Fasciata has dug down into her substrate too, packing it into her web to help hide it. I guess it's not uncommon.

[Uwe Neis]

G'day!

A few years ago A.Smith found a Brachypelma smithi living in a bush.

I don't remember that one... Would you mind posting the reference if possible?

Regards,
Uwe

[Neil Richardson]

Didn't Rick West's article in the current journal include a Brachypelma Klaasi that had been found 10feet up in a tree?

[Uwe Neis]

Buon giorno!

Didn't Rick West's article in the current journal include a Brachypelma Klaasi that had been found 10feet up in a tree?

My EndNote tells me you mean this one
West, R. C. (2005). "The Brachypelma of Mexiko." Journal of the British Tarantula Society 20(4): 108-119.

Thanks for your help so far but I'd still like to know about Andrew's article and the B. smithi!

Regards,
Uwe

[Richard Gallon]

The Brachypelma smithi up a tree was photographed in Andrew Smith's book on North American tarantulas.

Grammostola cala & Grammostola rosea are the same species (at least in captivity and according to science).

The specimens sold as "G. cala" are just 'red colour forms' of G. rosea. So relabel them as "Grammostola rosea RCF".

I've heard rumours that the real G. cala is totally different, and not available in the hobby anyway. However this is based on unpublished data, so until a scientific paper appears regarding this species, it remains a junior synonym of G. rosea - despite what you might read on pricelists, other journals, websites etc...

Richard