All posts by David Albaugh

Buggy Book Reviews, Butterfly Field Guide

BOOK REVIEW: The Butterflies of Massachusetts by Sharon Stichter

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Being a resident of Rhode Island, I have always wanted a field guide just on the butterflies indigenous to the littlest state in the union. As of this writing no such book exists so I have to be happy with more generalized field guides such as “Butterflies of the East Coast” by Rick Cech and Guy Tudor (reviewed HERE) or “A Swift Guide to Butterflies of North America” by Jeffrey Glassberg (reviewed HERE). Just recently I became aware of a book called “The Butterflies of Massachusetts,” by Sharon Stichter. Since Massachusetts is one of Rhode Island’s neighboring states, I figured this would be a pretty good book to have as many of the species between the two states should overlap.

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Tarantulas

REHOUSING TARANTULAS: Poecilotheria metallica

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Keeping tarantulas has always been a fun hobby for me and at the time of this writing, I have 55 tarantulas in my collection representing 44 species. They are fascinating animals and though they have the potential to bite, for the most part they are calm and make excellent pets. If you receive a tarantula as an adult, housing is relatively easy. You just place it into a size-appropriate enclosure and you should be all set with the exception of an occasional cleaning. When raising spiderlings though it is a different story since as they grow they need larger enclosures.

I start all spiderlings in deli cups with lids that have ventilation holes. For terrestrial (ground dwelling)species, I use a 16 oz. cup and for arboreals (live up off of the ground, usually in trees), I use a 32 oz. cup. These containers are small enough that it will make finding prey easy but at the same time large enough that the young tarantula can burrow if it wants or in the case of an arboreal species, be able to climb vertically. There is also enough room in these containers for a small water dish and regulating humidity is relatively easy.

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Tarantulas

A Pictorial Guide To My Tarantula Collection

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People are always asking me how many tarantulas I have and to be honest, I do have quite a few. What I am sharing with you today is the species list of tarantulas in my collection. In some cases I do have multiples of the same species so this list is just representative. In many cases, what I have are very young spiderlings so pictures may not be of the actual spider currently in my collection. As adult pictures of my actual animals are taken, they will replace any generic pictures used here. As more species are added, this list will be updated. Enjoy!

Acanthoscurria geniculata (Giant White Knee) – Brazil

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Butterfly Gardening, Conservation, Raising butterflies, Uncategorized

BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION – Every Little Bit Helps

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I have been a butterfly gardener for many years. Each year I try to add to existing gardens or take out gardens that don’t seem to be performing as well as I would like (when I say perform, I mean attracting butterflies). This year I wanted to do something new with an existing garden that over the past few years had just become overgrown, not only with weeds but with wildflowers and trees as well. This 13 foot by 13 foot garden had become unmanageable and with the exception of a butterfly bush and a wafer ash tree, nothing in it was attracting butterflies (the wafer ash was attracting giant swallowtails pretty regularly).

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Butterfly Gardening

EAST COAST BUTTERFLY GARDENING PART 1 – Attracting Butterflies To Your Yard

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Gardening, without a doubt, is one of the best hobbies out there, for many different reasons. First off, it gets you out into the fresh air and you truly get to interact with nature. It is relaxing and yet the payoff is amazing. Whether it is the resulting vegetables from your gardens, fruit from your trees or the gorgeous flowers that bloom, there is no better feeling of satisfaction than the one you get after growing something yourself. Everyone has their type of gardening preference; whether it is growing fruits and vegetables or just growing flowers. Mine is butterfly gardening. This will be a work-in-progress so check back often.

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Carnivorous plants

CARNIVOROUS PLANTS – A Hobby That Is Not As Hard As You Think!

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Being a lover of insects, I have also always found carnivorous plants a fascinating subject. I remember growing up and seeing the ads in the back of comic books advertising meat-eating Venus Fly Traps (right alongside the ads for live pet monkeys), ads that sensationalized them as being little monsters. I tried many times to grow these amazing plants but with no luck. They always ended up withering and dying on me.

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Tarantulas

SO HOW DO TARANTULAS GROW?

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Tarantulas, like all arachnids and insects, must shed their skin, or molt, to grow. This is because they have an exoskeleton. Since this exoskeleton is hard, the only way these invertebrates can grow is by breaking through their old skin, revealing the pliable new skin underneath. Once the shed is complete, the new and larger skin is then allowed to dry. What I present for you here is a pictorial guide to one of the world’s largest species of tarantulas, the Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-eating Spider (Lasiodora parahybana), named for the beautiful pink hairs on this massive spider’s abdomen.

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After making a bed of silk, the spider turns onto its back to start the molting process.

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Uncategorized

ENTOMOLOGICAL DISPLAYS

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Though I am no longer an insect collector, I do from time to time put displays together, either for friends or to be used in my insect presentations at schools and libraries (for more information please click HERE). These are just a sampling of some of the things I have done. As additional displays are completed I will add to this blog. To get an idea of scale, I am using Presidential Display Cases that measure 24″ x 18″ x 2.5″.

INSECTS VS. ARACHNIDS

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In 2013 I decided to totally revamp my insect presentations featuring all new displays to bring into the classroom. This was the first one that I did, featuring a side-by-side comparison of insects and arachnids. I am very happy with this display even though it is not jam-packed with specimens. It does feature a good assortment though of some of the largest species of both insects and arachnids, including one of the largest scorpion specimens I have ever seen!

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Buggy Book Reviews, Butterfly Field Guide, Butterfly Gardening, Conservation

BOOK REVIEW: “A Swift Guide to Butterflies of North America”

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I am a huge fan of field guides and thankfully most of them out there are pretty good. In my last book review (seen HERE) I discussed my favorite of the guides, though it is one that is so large it is impractical to bring into the field with you. Thankfully, this one is much smaller, very user friendly and is perfect to have with you in the field. I must also say that I am quickly becoming a huge fan of Jeffrey Glassberg, who wrote this and many of the best guides available today.

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