Backyard Herping

Yesterday, in the rain, I went out isopod hunting in my backyard.  Not much luck with the isopods, the only ones I saw were the fast ones that someone who is as slow and fat as me would never be able to catch by hand. But I was lucky in finding snakes.

 Under the second rock I flipped:

One of the prettiest garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) I've ever found in my yard. 

Under the next rock, a large flat piece of slate, I flipped:

Another garter snake, the typical ugly ones I find in my yard.  And surprisingly, a ringneck snake (Diadophis punctatus).  I usually see one every year or two, and sometimes in the house.

Under the next rock:

 Another garter and the very common Dekay's brown snake (Storeria dekayi).

Six snakes in 5 minutes, not too shabby. There are six species of snakes here on Staten Island and I'm lucky to have 3 of them in my yard.

 

And for something completely different, here's my Okefenokee Fishing Spider (Dolomedes okefinokensis) eating a 3" horn worm:

 

Birth and Death in the Collection

 

A Dark Wolf Spider (Hogna huelo) I received as a freebee from my wholesaler produced an eggsack and hatched into about a million babies.  Here she is with the babies on her back, munching on a cricket.

 

 

Sadly, my favorite true spider in collection has passed away.  I got this Giant Huntsman Spider (Heteropoda venatoria) back in October on 2016 and she was pretty much adult size then.  Unfortunately, I never took any pictures or videos of her while she was alive. 

Surinam Roaches

One of my snakes regurgitated a mouse, so I gave it as a treat to my Surinam roach (Pycnoscelus surinamensis) colony.  After only a couple of days, this is all that was left:

 

 

Surinams are easy to raise parthenogenic roach that eats everything (including their dead and waste) and make great pets or feeders.

 

 

Getting ready for the Oaks reptile show

Shipment of bugs from Florida

Received my latest shipment of creepy crawlies from Florida a few days ago.  They will be available for sale at the upcoming Oaks reptile show.

Okeefinokee Fishing Spider
Dolomedes okefinokensis
Some of these are monstrous size!

 

 

Regal Jumping Spider
Phiddippus regius
Personal favorites. Most are smaller size this time. But that means that they're young and have lots of life to live!

 

 

Apache Fire Jumper
Phiddippus apacheanus
Only got one of these in. Very pretty larger size (but smaller than the regius) jumping spider. This photo fails to show its reddish color.

 

 

Ornate Brown Widow
Latrodectus geometricus
They look pretty black to me.

 

Miami Wolf Spider
Hogna Miami

Formerly Hogna lenta. Your average wolf spider - fast and hungry.  I'm sure some of the larger females are gravid, but I can't make any guarantees.

 

 

Dark Wolf Spider

Hogna huelo

Darker and bigger than the H miami, but every bit as fast and aggressive.

 

 

Florida Wandering Spider

Ctenus captiosus

AKA False Wolf Spider, but 'Wandering Spider' sounds better.  I was thinking about picking up a few and surprise, the wholesaler sent me one.  Looks and acts like a wolf spider but supposedly gets bigger.

 

 

Giant Florida Keys Centipede

Scolopendra longipes

Big and orange (and unfortunately a bit expensive) centipede from Florida. Gets bigger than the polymorpha but smaller than the heros.  Adults and juvs available.

 

 

Redtail Olive Centipede

Rhysida longipes

Small (<3") but nicely colored centipede.  Could be kept communally and bred in captivity.

 

 

Florida Tailless Whipscorpion

Phrynus marginemaculata

America's very own Amblypigids! Can be kept communally.

 

 

For some reason, I didn't take photos of these:

 

Florida Bark Scorpion

Centruoides gracilis

Big, communal and awesome! My favorite scorpion.

 

Warrior Beetle

Passimachus sps

Threw a cricket in with it and the beetle ran away from it.  The next morning, all that was left of the cricket was wings and a leg.

 

Ogre-Face Cast Net Spider

Deinopsis sps

Awesome weird looking small spider that throws nets at their prey.

 

I'll post my complete list as soon as I make it, hopefully before the next show.

 

I will be sharing a table with Angry Bald Man Reptiles at the following shows:

 

East Coast Reptile Expo

http://www.eastcoastreptilesuperexpos.com/

Oaks, PA   Feb. 3

 

NY Metro Reptile Expo

http://www.reptileexpo.com

White Plains, NY   Feb. 11

Constitution Marsh & Indian Brook Falls

Constitution Marsh & Indian Brook Falls Hike 1/20/18

 

A beautiful winter day, so Diego and I, with the help of hikethehudsonvalley.com, traveled up to Garrison, NY for a quick hike. 

 

First, to the falls...

Found this creepy crawly walking on the snow. 

Nothing more beautiful than a frozen waterfall.

 

 

Looks like we came to the right place!

Then, onward toward the sanctuary/marsh...

 



 

A few mile down, on the drive back, Diego noticed a with some cool statues...

 

 

 

Hate religion but like religious art.  Go figure.