Aphonopelma paloma

[Sonorantree]

I collected a mature female Aphonopelma paloma this fall. She has eaten some very small crickets thus far. She does a lot of wandering around the top of the enclosure walls but retreats under a piece of cork bark for part of the day. Does anyone have experience with this species?
Here is one of their distinctive burrows in the wild

Here is my little "Palomita" in her enclosure

Her body is only 13mm long!

 

[MassExodus]

Fantastic! I was reading about these a few days ago, I'd love to get my hands on one

 

[Redacted]

I'll offer I hope an educated guess- Winter nap time. Provide a snug retreat then cool her down low-mid 60s for two months?

 

[Sonorantree]

Fantastic! I was reading about these a few days ago, I'd love to get my hands on one

Mid-November is their peak activity period. If you remind me next October I can see about getting you a few!

 

[Sonorantree]

I'll offer I hope an educated guess- Winter nap time. Provide a snug retreat then cool her down low-mid 60s for two months?

Prentice in one of his papers on Aphonopelma documented them being sealed in their burrows for over 711 days! Seven hundred eleven days! For a creature only 13mm long!

 

[MassExodus]

Mid-November is their peak activity period. If you remind me next October I can see about getting you a few!

That would be excellent. I'm planning to go after A moderatum in my area this spring. If I can find enough of them maybe I can send you one. I'm planning on breeding them, and grabbing a few for Austin, another member here. IF I can find them..they aren't as numerous as A anax in my area, which are everywhere.

 

[Sonorantree]

That sounds like a good plan! Have you read the genus revision for Aphonopelma that came out this year? There are maps and GPS coordinates for specimens that were examined for the revision. It is a treasure trove of information!

 

[MassExodus]

That sounds like a good plan! Have you read the genus revision for Aphonopelma that came out this year? There are maps and GPS coordinates for specimens that were examined for the revision. It is a treasure trove of information!

I have not, but I will be as soon as I find it. This is the first I've heard of it, so thanks!

 

[MassExodus]

That sounds like a good plan! Have you read the genus revision for Aphonopelma that came out this year? There are maps and GPS coordinates for specimens that were examined for the revision. It is a treasure trove of information!

Holy crap!..the old map of species distribution in TX doesn't come close to this..I can be in the middle of moderatum territory in an hour and a half..they're so much more widely distributed than I thought! Im loving this! Road trip!

 

[Sonorantree]

Holy crap!..the old map of species distribution in TX doesn't come close to this..I can be in the middle of moderatum territory in an hour and a half..they're so much more widely distributed than I thought! Im loving this! Road trip!

OK, so I guess you found it. As a beetle collector I am used to finding/reading this kind of thing, but this revision is really top-notch! Here is the link in case anyone is interested:
http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=6264

 

[Redacted]

Prentice in one of his papers on Aphonopelma documented them being sealed in their burrows for over 711 days! Seven hundred eleven days! For a creature only 13mm long!

Amazing! What a curious life history. I'm envious of your having a backyard labratory of them. Really neat.

 

[MassExodus]

@Austin S. I'm assuming you've seen this revision? I've never seen anything like it. These guys are fantastic, I need to keep up with current events, apparently..I'm two or three counties from them. They were finding them at rest stops beside the road..rest stops! Despite being one of the prettiest and most valuable Aphonapelma in the US, there's so much fenced private property they might as well be on a game preserve. Beautiful!

 

[Austin S.]

@Austin S. I'm assuming you've seen this revision? I've never seen anything like it. These guys are fantastic, I need to keep up with current events, apparently..I'm two or three counties from them. They were finding them at rest stops beside the road..rest stops! Despite being one of the prettiest and most valuable Aphonapelma in the US, there's so much fenced private property they might as well be on a game preserve. Beautiful!

We conducted our recent research, based on the coordinates in the revision. To make a long story short, after an avg. of walking 37 miles a day, each day, for 4 days, we found only a few. Either those areas that were tagged have been wiped out, or we went during a bad time of the year. We believe the second guess to be what happened. We went in August, the grass was knee-thigh high, and unbearable. Could barely see anything. However those rest stops are plum full of anax

 

[kormath]

northern utah huh? that's only a couple hours from here i might have to go hunting this spring

 

[Sonorantree]

Since my last update, my little A paloma (named, appropriately "Palomita") has eaten several pet store "small" crickets. A week ago she constructed a tunnel down the corner of her habitat and off into the center. She can often be seen in this tunnel at various points. Yesterday I put in a pretty big "small" cricket, which ended up having a body length almost as big as Palomita. She came up into the opening of her burrow and sat waiting for it to walk by. When it was within reach, she lunged, but missed. I stopped watching at this point. Unfortunately. When I looked back a few minutes later, she was wresting the brute! She killed it and dragged it down her burrow, then ate it up. She's a predator for sure!

 

[Redacted]

Since my last update, my little A paloma (named, appropriately "Palomita") has eaten several pet store "small" crickets. A week ago she constructed a tunnel down the corner of her habitat and off into the center. She can often be seen in this tunnel at various points. Yesterday I put in a pretty big "small" cricket, which ended up having a body length almost as big as Palomita. She came up into the opening of her burrow and sat waiting for it to walk by. When it was within reach, she lunged, but missed. I stopped watching at this point. Unfortunately. When I looked back a few minutes later, she was wresting the brute! She killed it and dragged it down her burrow, then ate it up. She's a predator for sure!

Very cool.

 

[Sonorantree]

She came out of her burrow tonight and her abdomen is so swollen up that maybe she won't have to eat for a couple years! (see previous post about this species being documented to stay in their burrows in nature for as long as 711 days) I didn't know that it was possible for them to hold so much food... I will hold back on the feedings for a little while anyway!

 

[Redacted]

She came out of her burrow tonight and her abdomen is so swollen up that maybe she won't have to eat for a couple years! (see previous post about this species being documented to stay in their burrows in nature for as long as 711 days) I didn't know that it was possible for them to hold so much food... I will hold back on the feedings for a little while anyway!

Highly seasonal environment. Food not so common. Get while you can.

 

[kormath]

She came out of her burrow tonight and her abdomen is so swollen up that maybe she won't have to eat for a couple years! (see previous post about this species being documented to stay in their burrows in nature for as long as 711 days) I didn't know that it was possible for them to hold so much food... I will hold back on the feedings for a little while anyway!

could be going into premolt, my A. chalcodes fattens up well before molting.

 

[Sonorantree]

could be going into premolt, my A. chalcodes fattens up well before molting.

Yes, but she was freshly molted in November when I collected her. I think Walter is right.