Virginia Cheeseman Blog

Spring is in the air at last, only 24 days to go but who's counting J . My garden is full of snowdrops, crocuses and primroses (the weeds are also appearing unfortunately). The bugs are doing well, some will breed all year round but many seem to wait for the spring. I assume it is the longer, brighter, days that triggers them off as the bug room is hot all year round. I was feeding the Tail-less Whip scorpions a few days ago and checked to see how many were pregnant. They are fascinating creatures with a pouch beneath their abdomen, you can clearly see the eggs incubating and as the nymphs grow the pouch enlarges and then it seems to burst into life with tiny but perfectly formed babies. The babies sit on their mother's back for a few weeks like other scorpions but of course although they are arachnids they are not really scorpions at all. Some people call them Whip spiders but they are actually Amblypygids. They are fascinating and active creatures but I don't think a lot ...

It’s all celebrations and presents this year and I’m certainly not complaining. Last Sunday was our Ruby wedding anniversary and instead of counting myself lucky if I get a card, my hubby bought me a beautiful pair of white gold earrings with diamonds and rubies. We went to Richmond park for lunch with our son and daughter in-law and came home to our daughter cooking dinner for us. A wonderful day and very restful, I even found time for my yoga class in the morning. It has been a busy half term week, I had my nephew’s girls for a couple of days. A friend of mine had organised a local bug hunt on Tuesday but sadly wild horses couldn’t drag the girls there! It’s so unfair, why does nobody in my family like bugs? I suggested to the girls that we could look for Adders on the common near my sister’s house in the Spring and they were horrified at the thought. Anyway, it is the only place I have ever seen a wild Adder so I will be going, even if it is on my own! The bug room is quite neat and...

Another successful week with lots of orders placed and several new reviews received. I’m always full of ‘good ideas’ (as I see it) but some ideas work and some don’t. The monthly review competition has worked better than I could ever have hoped for, so I am now running a new monthly competition. I added the details to the slip of paper that I send out with each order, explaining how to enter but it looked too messy so I have given up on that, I am mentioning it here and I will put it on my Facebook page when I get a chance. Basically, I would like you to let me know if you find any mistakes on the website such as spellings, wrong dates, updated tarantula names (they seem to constantly change). It is very difficult to proof read your own work and there is an awful lot of information on my website. I have asked many times before and sometimes I do receive emails pointing out a problem but people often apologise for pointing out mistakes. There is certainly nothing to apologise for, it is...

What can I say? I knew it was going to be busy but this week has been crazy. I'm not complaining, it's great to have so many orders and enquiries. I have fed and watered all the new animals that I got last weekend but I am some way off having them labelled, housed up properly and added to my stock list. Most are now listed on my website but I do have a couple of tarantulas that I don't yet have a common name for. I might ask my Facebook friends but as yet I haven't found the time! Honestly I haven't stopped, I have been waking up early and going straight into my office (that’s after making a cup of tea and having a wee - too much information?). The show was brilliant as usual. The Invicta tarantula group who put the show on are so friendly and well organised and the venue is a plush hotel. I was picking out millipedes and got into a right mess, my hands were covered in mud. I went to the bathroom to clean up and not only did they have a good quality soap dispenser...