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Brachypelma albopilosum
Brachypelma albopilosum (Curly hair) is probably one of the most common tarantulas around. It has got its common name from the light colored hairs that are curly and cover the entire dark brown body. At the moment I'm keeping about 20 of these spiders, all of them still at the spiderling stage. Due to its non-aggressive behavior it's popular with beginners and due to its easy propagation and the huge number of spiderlings in one cocoon it's also quite cheap.
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Brachypelma auratum
This species was once thought to be a color variation of Brachypelma smithi until it became the status of a separate species. The markings are very similar to smithi but the colors are more intense.This little spiderling looks like any other Brachypelma spiderling. Not very impressive, yet.
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Brachypelma boehmei
I currently have 5 of these beautiful tarantulas. One is approx. 10th molt and has already its adult colors. The other 4 are still somewhat smaller, around the 4th molt. The pictures are the same spider and they are taken in May and November 2003, respectively. On the top picture the spider is just about the size of a 10 cent piece and has the typical brown color that most Brachypelma species show. Just half a year later (middle) the spider has grown to a leg span of about 9 cm! I just hope it's not a male :-), because those tend to grow faster than the females.
On the bottom picture the spider shows me that it is not amused about me trying to clean the terrarium and remove its hiding place. It rears up on its hind legs, raises the front legs and shows me its fangs. However, this is more show than it is seriously threatening me. When disturbed further it runs away and tries to hide. Then from its hiding place it bombards me with its urtricating bristles. Also you see that the abdomen ist pitch black. The animal molted a few days after and is now even bigger and the colors brighter.
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Brachypelma emilia
Brachypelma emilia is, like albopilosum, another docile species and well suited for beginners. I have only one small spiderling of about the 4th molt. Unfortunately, this species is growing rather slowly, so I guess I will have to wait for quite some time yet until it shows its adult color with different shades of brown and a dark triangle on the carapace.
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Brachypelma klaasi
Brachypelma emilia is, like albopilosum, another docile species and well suited for beginners. I have only one small spiderling of about the 4th molt. Unfortunately, this species is growing rather slowly, so I guess I will have to wait for quite some time yet until it shows its adult color with different shades of brown and a dark triangle on the carapace.
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Brachypelma ruhnaui
I have 5 spiders of this species and I'm really looking forward to seeing them show their adult colors. At the moment they are still tiny, i got them as spiderlings 1st molt and they grow very, very slowly..... When I received them they were little bigger than the fruitflies (Drosophila) I used to feed them. Since then they have molted once and look a little more like real spiders. The thing with Brachypelma is that one cannot distinguish one species from the other (at least I can't), so you have to wait until they begin to show some sort of color. This species is not very common and when adult it will look a bit like Brachypelma vagans, only with a light brown carapace instead of a dark one.
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Brachypelma smithi
This is probably THE tarantula that everyone knows. It's beautiful dark body and the bright orange joints of the legs make it an evergreen in the world of the tarantula keepers. While other species go in and out of fashion, this one is constantly popular with everyone. It is quite slow to grow, but if you have a female, then you may have a valuable pet for the next 25 years. Easy to handle and (most of the individuals) are docile. Still, as all Brachypelma species it has urtricating bristles to denfend itself.
I currently keep 5 of these beauties, but they will take another molt or two before they will start to show some color.
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Brachypelma vagans
Another easy-to-keep tarantula. When adult it shows a velvet black body and red hairs on the abdomen. I have 4 of them and they grow quite rapidly.
This spider is about one year old and starts to show some red hairs on its back.
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