#Burrowing Tarantula

[kirstielol]

I went to feed Arwen today and she completely ignored the worm and just started climbing out of her enclosure lol, I put my hand out and she walked right on me.. she's so sweet, I love this girl so much ❤️❤️

[rawliverandgoronspice]

people who attempt any kind of interaction with zelda twitter are literally so brave

[catmeme]

i said i wouldn't but... tarantula number 5! my first old world species, the notorious obt >:3 it's been shy so far but i love my orange bitey thang. here it is murdering a cricket at lightning speed

[flawless-imperfections]

this is Blueberry (aka Blue)

Blue is a dolichothele diamantinensis (Brazilian Blue Dwarf Beauty) spiderling. They’re not blue yet but they will be! Anyway i adore my new spood 🥹💙

[insaneclownpussi]

black and tan tarantula. i scared her while walking and she dropped her egg sac (left)….here she trying to find it. so close girl!!

[insectomoe]

2:05 minutes of Rose excavating

[arisharkboi]

Doc Ock dug her first real burrow and I'm so proud of her! 💕🕷 its hard to get a good pic since of course she dug all the way in the back corner

When I have the money I'm going to upgrade her to a deeper enclosure so she'll have even more room to dig

Also another pic of her bc her colors are so pretty!!

[kivespussirotta]

hmmrm. dirt delicious

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

my brother is playing sdv for the first time and he just sent me this

i think its going well

[hopefulqueer]

i have acquired. spider :)

[kirstielol]

my Caribena versicolor as a sling vs. now as an adult 💜 definitely one of my favourite tarantulas, it's been so fun watching her grow up from a tiny vibrant blue sling to a beautiful multicoloured adult ❤️❤️❤️

[catmeme]

my newest babies poppyseed and pumpernickel! i love them so much

[strigops]

in such a serious quandary abt what to put in this tank. it’s a 40 gal long breeder and my mom wants it to be a terrarium and ALSO wants to set up her old fake rock water feature (fair bc it is very nice and rlly cool). so i need something that will do MINIMAL burrowing and chewing on plants, but also no species with high humidity (or temperature above room temp) requirements bc im not confident we can keep that tank humid enough for tropical species.

so. that leaves arid/temperate critters that do no or very little burrowing and munching of leaves. personally i think some land crabs would be a good fit but god are they a pain in the ass. im obviously extremely biased but i want So Badly to put a giant spider in there but im struggling to think of a tarantula that won’t see the dirt and plants and turn into a sentient ditch witch

[0ut0fmych3st]

If y’all ever want to know what it’s like to have a fire skink, just save yourself the money and fill up a fish tank with dirt. Then wait a week, being sure to thoroughly search the tank every day as if something might appear from the soil. When the week is up, you’ll then have had the full experience of owning a fire skink.

[deluxebug]

I get to pick up my baby birdeater and my baby curlyhair ranchos on tuesday :3

[fuckingrecipes]

Wait, which animals raise livestock?

Several species of ants will 'herd' aphids around (a type of plant lice)- even picking them up and putting them back with the group if they wander off. The ants will attack anything that approaches their aphid herds, defending them. The aphids produce a sugary excretion called honeydew, which the ants harvest and eat.

Some ants will even 'milk' the aphids, stroking the aphids with their antennae, to stimulate them to release honeydew. Some aphids have become 'domesticated' by the ants, and depend entirely on their caretaker ants to milk them.

When the host plant is depleted of resources and dies, the ants will pick up their herd of aphids and carry them to a new plant to feed on - a new 'pasture' if you will.

Some ants continue to care for aphids overwinter, when otherwise they'd die. The ants carry aphid eggs into their own nests, and will even go out of their way to destroy the eggs of aphid-predators, like ladybugs.

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Microhylids – or narrow-mouthed frogs - have an interesting symbiosis with Tarantulas.

While the spiders could very easily kill and eat the much-tinier frogs, and DO normally prey on small frogs, young spiders instead will use their mouthparts to pick up the microhylid frogs, bring them back to their burrow, and release them unharmed.

The frog benefits from hanging out in/around the burrow of the tarantula, because the tarantula can scare away or eat predators that normally prey on tiny frogs, like snakes, geckos, and mantids. The tarantula gets a babysitter.

Microhylid frogs specialize in eating ants, and ants are one of the major predators of spider eggs. By eating ants, the frogs protect the spider's eggs. The frogs can also lay their eggs in the burrow, and won't be eaten by the spider.

So it's less 'livestock' and more like a housepet - a dog or a cat. You stop coyotes/eagles from hurting your little dog/cat, and in return the dog/cat keeps rats away from your baby.

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Damselfish grow algae on rocks and corals. They defend these gardens ferociously, and will attack anything that comes too close - even humans. They spend much of their time weeding the gardens, removing unwanted algaes that might overtake their crop.

The species of algae that they cultivate is weak and and sensitive to growing conditions, and can easily be overgrazed by other herbivores. That particular algae tends to grow poorly in areas where damselfish aren't around to protect and farm it.

Damselfish will ALSO actively protect Mysidium integrum (little shrimp-like crustacians) in their reef farms, despite eating other similarly sized invertebrates. The mysids are filter feeders, who feed on zooplankton and free-floating algae, and their waste fertilizes the algae farms. Many types of zooplankton can feed on the algae crop, and the mysids prevent that.

While Mysids can be found around the world, the only place you'll find swarms of Musidium integrum is on the algae farms that Damselfish cultivate.

Damselfish treat the little mysids like some homesteaders treat ducks. Ducks eat snails and other insect pests on our crops, and their poop fertilizes the land. The ducks can be eaten, but aren't often, since they're more useful for their services than their meat.

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There are SEVERAL species of insect and animal which actively farm. They perform fungiculture and horticulture: deliberately growing and harvesting fungus and plants at a large-scale to feed their population.

Leaf-cutter ants and Termites both chew up plant material and then seed it with a specific type of fungus. The fungus grows, and the termites/ants harvest the mushroom as a food source.

Ambrosia beetles burrow into decaying trees, hollow out little farming rooms, and introduce a specific fungii (the ambrosia fungi), which both adults and larval beetles feed on.

Marsh Periwinkles (a type of snail) cultivates fungus on cordgrass. They wound the plant with their scraping tongue, then defecate into the wound so their preferred fungus will infect it and grow there. They let the fungus grow in the wound a bit, and come back later to eat.