Florida or BUST!

[buthus]

Finally!
Going to New Orleans this coming weekend...BUT... I bought a couple one-ways and Im heading to Orlando first ...tomorrow morn... to spend a few days pretty much souly to look for them Florida widows!! :} :D
Dont know much regarding what land is public and whatnot ...but I have a good idea which areas Ill check out.
I MAY have lost my guide ...bummer if thats the case. But... Florida or BUST baby!
Wish me luck :)

[Canth]

GOOD LUCK!
Take tons of pics, but most of all have fun!

And bring back me a nice, shiny, black and (mostly) red present :p

[Widowman10]

oh good, you're going!! have tons of fun and happy hunting! let me know how everything goes and update with pics. :cool:

[John Apple]

I am planning a trip down 75 to Florida this august to catch all 4 widows in Florida and all three tarantulas...[yes I said tarantulas]

[xhexdx]

I am planning a trip down 75 to Florida this august to catch all 4 widows in Florida and all three tarantulas...[yes I said tarantulas]

I was only aware of B. vagans. If you don't mind, PM me because I'd like to discuss this with you and see if we can help each other out.

And to the OP: I know a great place for catching the brown widows and the occasional black widow (sorry, I'm not familiar with the scientific names other than Latrodectus as the genus). I can probably get you access to it if you'd like. Let me know. You can PM me as well if you'd like.

--Joe

[John Apple]

B vagans
header bank and rim ditch
seemani...key biscaine
avic avic..naples manor
there easy ....they are non natives so no bag limits or laws so far in collecting

[jbm150]

B vagans
header bank and rim ditch
seemani...key biscaine
avic avic..naples manor
there easy ....they are non natives so no bag limits or laws so far in collecting

What, seriously??? Where in key biscayne are seemani's? I've heard bits and pieces and rumors and quiet whispers about Ts in Fla but don't know much about it. How big are these populations?

As for the original post, good luck with the widow hunt. I found my first brown widow egg sac last weekend but no momma. I'd really like to find a black but I'll take a brown if I can find one.

[buthus]

B vagans
header bank and rim ditch
seemani...key biscaine
avic avic..naples manor
there easy ....they are non natives so no bag limits or laws so far in collecting
B vagans ...I do believe Im right where they can be found ..well... im actually at an internet access place ...so no Ts tonight...though Im thinking about checking out these orange groves nearby and/or the savanna area south of my current location. I gotta get out of this joint soon ...hoping ...Jeff?? u online now??... I will head your way tonight and find some way to connect. ...Anyway the chick running this place is way too friendly and smokin'sweet ...dangerous ..must...get..away..from..this ..place. :drool: :wall: ;)

[xgrafcorex]

B vagans
header bank and rim ditch
seemani...key biscaine
avic avic..naples manor
there easy ....they are non natives so no bag limits or laws so far in collecting

I have heard rumors of A. avic and even A. seemani but haven't heard their locales before. I know where B. vagans were found...didn't find any there myself.

[Redapache]

To the OP if you head near Ocala you can find Red Widows(Bishopi) and in Southern Florida you can find Black(Mactans) and Brown(Geometricus).Good Luck!

[buthus]

BINGO! Me legs are torn up and Ive had very little sleep ..but the treks through the scrub finally paid off. :cool: Basically spent the entire night and all day today in the scrub. Slept in the car in some parking-lot for a few. :D

To the OP if you head near Ocala... Yep, on my route going north ...planning on checking the Ocala area out. Probably a quick stop though ...BUT...if I can do it without falling asleep at the wheel...gonna try and reach that area tonght. Then Ill have more time for that area and a few others more north. Need food... and more of those crappy energy drinks. :D

[Widowman10]

successful scrub = bishopi?!

[xhexdx]

Yeah, I'm curious what you've got so far, too.

[buthus]

Some pics of the better lookin' scrub (regret not taking pics of the majority of the scrub I hiked through... it was not so pretty but had a rougher charm so to speak.)

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/scrub_fl09_01.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/scrub_fl09_02.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/scrub_fl09_03.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/scrub_fl09_04.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/scrub_fl09_05.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/scrub_fl09_06.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/scrub_fl09_07.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/scrub_fl09_08.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/scrub_fl09_09.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/scrub_fl09_10.jpg


Some of the bishopi I came across...

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_01.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_02.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_03.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_04.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_05.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_06.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_07.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_08.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_09.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_10.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_11.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_12.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_13a.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_13.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/bshp_fl09_14.jpg

[Ritzman]

Awesome pics.

[Widowman10]

B-E-A-UUUUUTIFUL!!! was hoping you would find some cool stuff so we could see pics ;) good job :clap:

[burmish101]

Awesome pics.

[Elizabeth]

Wow! What are you planning to do with those beauties? Will any be available? (The bishopi)

And... are those packing peanuts on the ground in one of those pics?

[Hamburglar]

Great photos... thanks for posting.

[buthus]

Wow! What are you planning to do with those beauties? Will any be available? (The bishopi)

And... are those packing peanuts on the ground in one of those pics?

Nope that stuff is lichen.


As for the bishopi.. I wasnt out there to collect so much as I was there to finally see how they live. Suppose, if I ran into..lets say a 100, i'd have collected 10. I collected 3 females and one male. (the maths about the same) One female has produced a sac. The male has been mated with a friends "dealer bought" female and hopefully will be able to meet up with the other 2 fems I brought back. ...though, I do BELIEVE them to be gravid, I do know I could be wrong.
Slings, depending on number produced, will be paired or tripled up for first reduction. After 3rd instar they will be placed outside to get exposed to daily, not so consistent climate... closer to what they would have out in the scrub. At around 5th-6th instar I plan on exposing them to reduced temps with mellow warmups every few days or so. I would LOVE to be able to keep them at/in those conditions for a couple molts. A couple frig level cold snaps added in there.. hopefully wipe out some of the lucky weaklings.
The goal is to not only break the '3rd gen captivity barrier' but do it with the 4th gen being sacs chucked full of healthy slings. ...

[Elizabeth]

Man, what a plan! A COMPLETE plan! Wow!

Good luck! They are very beautiful.

[Protectyaaaneck]

Cool pic's. The MM only had 7 leg's? What is the toxicity compared to say that of a black widow? I'm still new to the world of true spider's so I don't really know the toxicity of these guys. I noticed you weren't afraid to get up close and personal so I'm going to venture a guess and say that they arent that bad, or you just have a really big set.

[Widowman10]

Cool pic's. The MM only had 7 leg's? What is the toxicity compared to say that of a black widow? I'm still new to the world of true spider's so I don't really know the toxicity of these guys. I noticed you weren't afraid to get up close and personal so I'm going to venture a guess and say that they arent that bad, or you just have a really big set.

toxicity isn't that bad at all. and it's not too big of a deal to get up close and personal with widows. they don't lunge and bite at everything that moves... i'm in close contact with most of mine most of the time. plus you can tell if/when they would even bite (not that they really would).

[buthus]

Not sure about bishopi venom. I think I spotted a LD50 rating for them once and it was up there with the rest of the native north americans, but a bit more mellow.(?). Not sure if there has been any confirmed bite reports. During a primo couple seasons I could see these infiltrating areas closer to and amongst human dwellings/equipment/whatnot allowing more exposure and amping the small probability of an accidental run-in. But otherwise, human/bishopi contact is next to impossible forgoing stupid, hairless monkey ripping through palmetto and very strong, tightly woven webbing. In fact that reminds me to clarify something I had meant to after first posting the pics. ...
The bishopi shown 'outside' in the web during daylight were manipulated to get them to "perform". ..nothing traumatic ..a wittle push, a wittle shove. Most pics I took of the bishopi within their "funnel" dens were taken while the other hand exposed them. ie..prying apart the palmetto leaves. In other words, in the daylight, the only way you will/may see a bishopi is by looking straight down the middle of the palmetto shoot that the spider is in.


A few other trues I came across...

Cool little wolfie ...or maybe a grassy?
http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/Fl_Ochlocknee-spider.jpg

Spent a couple hrs crashing at a wayside rest above the Apalachicola National park area... morning walk n'stretch led me to a few cools trues...

Only guessing...but, maybe.. Tidarren sisyphoides. Collected a handfull along with exploding sacs. These were high n'dry up n'under roof structures built above picnic tables. They build half-hazard tents with leaf/needle/debris and carcasses. Every tent had at least 1 Pholcid kill amoungst other spiders and Opiliones. ...Tons of a neat lookin Opilione specie out there.
http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/Fl_apalachicola-wayside-spider01.jpg

This one had a friend hanging out with her...
Argyrodes? Big compared to what we find in SoCal.
http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/Fl_apalachicola-wayside-spider02.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/Fl_apalachicola-wayside-spider03.jpg

Lost most of the adults ...abdomens are sooo fragile ...A bit too much moisture in the collection cup and it seems that they get stuck to stuff or over-hydrated. ...this plus the facts of transport bumps and grinds. Tons of tiny slings I do have... gonna try and raise some.


Few more spidie shots from same wayside rest quicko search...
http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/Fl_apalachicola-wayside-spider04.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/Fl_apalachicola-wayside-spider05.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/Fl_apalachicola-wayside-spider06.jpg

[Widowman10]

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/Fl_apalachicola-wayside-spider04.jpg

nice contrasting colors and great shot of a Leucauge!!

[buthus]

Man, what a plan! A COMPLETE plan! Wow!

Good luck! They are very beautiful.
Ha ha... more like publicly announced wishful thinking. Sacs gotta hatch first ..then...I gotta actually keep track of stuff. :p





nice contrasting colors and great shot of a Leucauge!!
http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/Fl_apalachicola-wayside-spider04B.jpg

http://www.moflash.net/misc/img/spiders/Fl_apalachicola-wayside-spider04C.jpg

Ha.. levels were played with to get the blacks and 2x 10/1.0/0 unsharp mask to help with the lack of depth o'field.
Bright morning sun (highlights like flares), shooting into a torn up tire behind a dumpster ...tiny spider with nothing to meter. Web is moving in the wind and im shaky-hung over from monster drinks and lack of sleep. Focal length 105, iso 1600, fstop 2.8 ...just shoot like crazy...ones BOUND to have the spiders abdomen at the right distance to be in focus? ...nope.. :rolleyes: :D But thanks! :p