Will this rain ever stop!
Will this rain ever stop! It really doesn't feel much like summer as I sit here in my office with the rain cascading down on the roof (I can't hear myself think). I just hope we have a bright and sunny August, especially 19th August when our son gets married. I am off to the Hen do this weekend, thankfully it is mostly an indoor event, sadly it doesn't involve getting on an aeroplane and going somewhere hot!
It has been another busy week, I haven't received much in the way of new stock but I have been packing and posting orders and then re-housing new bugs in the various vacated containers. Nothing ever stays empty for long, as the bugs grow they need larger containers and then the new stock can be housed in the smaller containers. I'm still not convinced that getting a dishwasher in our new kitchen was 'essential' but everyone told me it was. I think that washing up in the sink is just as easy but I must admit that the bug containers come up a treat, especially all the jam jars that I use in the stick insect cages. Before the dish washer I would sterilise the jars in a bowl, with baby sterilising tablets. It is nice to do away with the bowl.
The bugs all seem happy in the bug house but I must admit that hubby and I got a bit of a shock when we realised just how much power the bug house uses. We were going through the electricity and gas bills the other day because I didn't think they could be right. Sadly they were correct so I have now turned off one of the radiators. There are plenty of heat mats on most of the cages so I doubt if two powerful oil filled radiators are absolutely necessary at this time of year. I will see how things go, electricity and stamps are by far my biggest outlays each month. I cannot believe how much money I spend on postage but there is not much I can do about that.
Lots of things seem to be hatching right now, especially stick insects. I can't believe that my Horse-head grasshoppers haven't started emerging yet. They have been laying eggs steadily for months, surely they must start hatching soon! I am pleased that my Philippine Green Nymph stick insects are hatching. I haven't bred these before, the adults were lovely. I put my Chile Beauty spiders together again this week, the male just wandered off as he did before so I popped the lid on the tank and just left them to it. Thankfully the male survived, he looks fine. I 'hope' they mated, time will tell. I have now put the female in a large, airy container in preparation for her laying an egg sac. I am going to take plenty of care as I have had several spiders eat their egg sacs this year. I think it is important to make sure that the humidity is correct and that the cage is kept clean and tidy. I have some lovely adult female spiders at the moment, I am now on the lookout for corresponding males. Sadly, although I have greatly reduced the price, nobody seems to want the Emerald Skeleton or Rio Grand Gold adult male spiders on my website. I assume that nobody has a female of either species. It is such a shame when this happens. The Emerald Skeleton is a lovely spider, I really wish I had a female to mate with him.
Next week I have a large number of spiders coming in again. They will be mainly spiderlings but I have also ordered a few slightly larger specimens. They are more expensive but a lot of care has gone into them, they are all captive bred. It is great that so many people are putting effort into breeding spiders these days, rather than just collecting them from the wild. One of my Vietnam Forest scorpions has given birth a few days ago, I noticed the tiny white babies on her back when I was doing the weekly feed. I have a few scorpions that look pregnant but I just can't figure out how to 'make them' give birth. They seem to be able to hang on until conditions are right. On numerous occasions I have known scorpions to give birth soon after I have posted them to someone or after I have taken them to an exhibition. I don't know if it is the motion or change in surroundings, air pressure, sunshine, whatever it is I haven't cracked it yet. I have at least four Imperial scorpions that are definitely pregnant but none as yet have produced any young. Perhaps I should take them on the Hen weekend, that would certainly liven things up but I doubt if my future daughter in-law would ever forgive me. Sadly she appears to be terrified of anything remotely 'creepy crawly'. Goodness knows how she will cope on their honeymoon safari in Africa (I did volunteer to go with them, my son's reply was not suitable to print but it was certainly a no).
Must get a move on now, plenty to do before we set off this evening. I have an appointment to look at some plastic containers later this morning. I discovered when doing a Google search some weeks ago, that there is a catering supplies company quite near to me. I have often bought plastic containers mail order over the years and sometimes been disappointed with the results. I have arranged to look at some samples of various pots. I use a lot of plastic containers both for housing and posting the bugs.