Kelvin Wiley

The first thing that probably stands out when first glancing at this spider is its bright red chelicerae. The chelicerae make up part of a spider’s mouthparts and are what the fangs are attached to. It’s no wonder that this arachnid has been given the common name Red-Fang Wandering Spider (Piloctenus haematostoma). The one that I’m holding is my female who I fed a mealworm to. If you have somewhat a familiarity with spiders, then the name “wandering spider” might ring a bell. One of the most venomous spiders on the planet are the Brazilian Wandering Spiders (Phoneutria spp.). Red-Fang Wandering Spiders belong to the spider family known as Ctenidae, which Brazilian Wandering Spiders are also apart of! It was long believed that Red-Fang Wandering Spiders possessed incredibly potent venom like those of their related cousins, before later being found to be as potent to that of a bee sting. With no prior background knowledge of this particular spider species, one might see their bright crimson coloration and assume these spiders to be deadly! *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Link in bio also :)*⁣⁣⁣
⁣
⁣

While doing some enclosure maintenance, I took out two of some of my favorites tarantulas in my collection. My female Venezuelan Suntiger Tarantula (Psalmopoeus irminia), and my female Trinidad Chevron Tarantula (Psalmopoeus cambridgei), are two arboreal species that lack urticating hairs. These tree dwelling tarantulas pack a much stronger venom to make up for their inability to flick hairs when threatened. I’ve had both of these tarantulas for years now and can’t wait to see their growth as they grow older! *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Link in bio also :)*⁣
⁣

King baboon tarantula (Pelinobius muticus)

You’d be surprised by what you can find just by flipping over some rocks. Underneath one of the rocks I overturned, I found a male Striped Fishing Spider (Dolomedes scriptus). Fishing spiders can be found near freshwater sources like swamps, ponds, and streams. They’ll reside on the surface of the water with their legs outstretched, picking up the faintest vibrations of insects and other small organisms on the surface and under the water as well. Once they’ve honed in on where the vibration is stemming from, they’ll push their way into that direction, immediately sinking their venomous fangs into their prey!⁣
⁣

Whenever I see a species of true widow out in the wild, I always feel inclined to want to hold it. On one hot summer night, I spotted an adult female Southern Black Widow (Latrodectus mactans) underneath of a building. Since my fingers were too big to fit under the building, I was resourceful and found a twist tie on the ground to use. By gently tugging back on the strands of silk from the widow’s webbing, I began simulating the vibrations of a trapped insect. This is something that I’ve done in the past using blades of grass to retrieve spiders that are in hiding. Eventually, I tricked the Southern Black Widow to coming completely out and seized the opportunity to carefully grab her. Upon closer inspection, this female was most likely gravid. Another thing to note was how calm her demeanor was. Out of every wild species of true widow that I’ve found, I’ve never received a bite from grabbing any one of them. After handling her for a bit, I gently placed her back underneath of the building where I had originally found her. *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Link in bio also :)*⁣⁣

While filming my female Israeli Desert Huntsman (Cerbalus negebensis), she decided to sink her fangs into my flesh. Many spiders will use their fangs to grip and anchor themselves onto surfaces to prevent themselves from falling. They’ll typically only do this when their legs are having a hard time sticking onto whatever surface that they’re standing on. In this case, it was my hand that she was having a hard time staying atop on. The bites she gave me were dry bites, which means that there was no venom injected. Like all species of huntsman, this species possesses venom that is relatively mild to humans. Many huntsman spiders typically excel in walking on vertical surfaces. That isn’t the case for the Israeli Desert Huntsman. This particular species is more suited for a flat ground type of lifestyle. You may have not noticed, but she’s missing her right hindleg. Her leg was already missing when I originally got her, but it luckily doesn’t hinder her ability to catch prey in the slightest! *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Link in bio also :)*⁣⁣

There’s nothing like walking into the murky depths of the swamps during a warm night of summer. One member of the swamps that I always run into are fishing spiders, specifically, Six-Spotted Fishing Spiders (Dolomedes triton). The specific one that I caught in the video is of an adult female. I’ve always had a strong admiration for these spiders due to their unique way of hunting for food. Residing on the surface of the water with their legs outstretched, these spiders can pick up the faintest vibrations of insects and other small organisms on the surface and under the water as well. Once they’ve honed in on where the vibration is stemming from, they’ll push their way into that direction, immediately sinking their venomous fangs into their prey. One really cool adaptation that these spiders have is their ability to breathe underwater. Fishing spiders, as well as many spiders in general, have hydrophobic hairs that repel water off from their bodies. When a fishing spiders wants to catch something underwater, their specialized hairs will repel water off from their body, which in return, creates an air bubble that encapsulates around their abdomen. Since spiders breathe through their abdomen, this air bubble allows them to essentially breathe underwater while they hunt for their prey! *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Link in bio also :)*⁣⁣
⁣

Usually my Orange Baboon Tarantula (Pterinochilus murinus) is pretty chill with me taking her enclosure’s lid off to feed and to give her water. However, I struck a chord with her one day when I went to take her lid off. If you’re familiar with Orange Baboon Tarantulas, then you already know how defensive this particular species can be. Rearing back and flashing her venomous fangs, she took a few good strikes at me. I don’t take it to heart though. We all have bad days sometimes.⁣
⁣

Molting is the process in which all arthropods undergo by shedding their exoskeleton in order to grow. Unfortunately, molting doesn’t always end up successful. This male African Twig Mantis (Popa spurca) ended up having an extremely bad mismolt when molting to adulthood. A mismolt is when an arthropod has some form of minor to severe complication during the molting process. His mismolt resulted in him shedding out with severely crippled legs, leaving him in a debilitated state, unable to even stand or walk. Sadly, once a mismolt occurs, there’s no way of reversing the damage. His chances of living were severely low. So instead of discarding his helpless body, I fed him to my female Trinidad Chevron Tarantula (Psalmopoeus cambridgei). This way, his body didn’t go to waste, and he’ll provide the tarantula with food and energy. *New hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to