As well as the mystery box, I ordered a Stegodyphus dufouri. These are a type of velvet spider from the African deserts, with some exceptional markings. When I added a velvet spider to my wishlist, I had intended to get the black velvet spider, which I felt looked a lot like a teddy bear. I haven't seen these become available yet, and while I know that they are bred in America for the pet trade, I am unsure as to whether they are available in the UK. So I added a substitute velvet spider.
Well, today my order arrived, so what did I get?
Pamphobeteus sp. machala
A reasonably large spiderling, about 5cm in body length. This spider isn't overly social, and whenever I disturb him, he stands on his tippy toes and holds his abdomen in the air, almost like a Halloween cat arching its back. It's quite interesting to watch. This T obviously has it's spiderling colouration, and almost matches my Loki with the orange abdomen and black Christmas tree pattern.
Also known as a Pale Ladybird spider, this velvet spider has quite striking markings on its face and abdomen. Unfortunately, this particular spider seems to be a mature male, judging by the dark bands and sheer size of his front legs. I say unfortunately, because this species is from the family of True spiders, which are comparatively short lived compared to tarantulas. Now that he is mature, I can expect him to live a couple of months. Still, he is a very beautiful spider, and I will enjoy him while I have him.
A chaco golden knee tarantula! This was the first critter out of my mystery box, and it's quite a nice one to have. I am especially fond of this species - G. pulchripes was one of the very first original species that I bought when I was trying to overcome my fear. This spider is the same species as Lolth, who is a very chilled out spood. It is very small, however - I think it may even be smaller than Lolth was when I got him, so I am a little concerned that I may struggle to keep him alive. Still, I've done okay with Lolth, so hopefully I'll do okay with his little brother too.
A regal jumping spider! I love these guys - I currently have one male (Fred) and one female (Wilma). They were the first species that I bought when starting this journey, so adding a new one always feels right. This one is a female - it has the mocha brown colouration, while males are black and white. I like to give these ones old English names, and I'm already leaning towards Charlotte for this one.
Three Australian Leaf Insects! I haven't had a lot of luck in keeping stick insects recently, but I doo believe that that is because my daughter kept interfering with the Sunny stick insects that we had. Admittedly, they were her pets, but I would often find them missing and wandering around her bedroom, or in the laundry. When the last of them finally passed several months ago, I was a little relieved. Hopefully these will be different. I'll be keeping these guys in the front room with the spiders, so she won't be able to open the enclosure without my knowledge. According to the internet, these guys eat raspberry, rose, and bramble leaves - all three of whoch I have in my garden. So they should be easy to keep happy. (In theory!)
Not pictured in this post was the Phidippus ardens I got in the mystery box - A widow jumping spider. I already have a mature male widow jumper named Ladybug, so I'm not worried about this one either. All in all, a pretty "safe" mystery box - all species that I think I can keep happy.
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