ATS Conference 2009

[Wade Harrell]

UpdatedActivity Schedule

Thursday, July 23

5:00 PM: Check in and Registration (Sonora Ballroom). Those bringing artwork or crafts to exhibit in the art show may drop them off with Shasta Michaels at this time.

6:00 PM: Conference Mixer - the traditional ATS Ice-breaker!

This year, we’ve moved the festivities to the Sonora Ballroom and added some great ice-breaking activities. Come in, relax, and get to know your fellow arachnid enthusiasts!

Food provided courtesy of the ATS.

7:00 PM: The “FinishMaster 500”: The World Famous ATS Cockroach Races! We’ve made this event part of the mixer since it’s such a great ice-breaker! There will be medals and trophies awarded, and you can buy or rent your own cockroach to enter. Shasta Michaels is once again organizing the races, and she’s already cooking up ways to make them bigger and better! Do you think you’re above shouting at a bunch of bugs running on the floor? Think again! All cockroach rentals and purchases benefit the ATS. A big thanks to FinishMaster, Inc. for donating materials for this event.

Friday, July 24

9 AM to 12 PM The Exo Terra ® Spider Mall: Our popular vendor area will be open for business! Come browse an awesome selection of live arthropods, art, crafts, books and supplies! Location: Sonora Ballroom (Vendor Room).

Arthropod Art Show: New this year, we’ll have a selection of artwork from attendees and members on display whenever the Spider Mall is open! Come see the talent the ATS membership has to offer. Location: Sonora Ballroom (Spider Lounge).


9:30 AM -10:30 AM Panel Discussion: What is the current state of the arachnid keeping hobby? Come and join our panel of biologists, authors, hobbyists and dealers to discuss where we’ve been, where we are and where we’re going! Location: Sonora Ballroom (Lecture room).

11:00 AM-3:00 PM Field Trip: the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Transportation note: Attendees are responsible for their own transportation to and from the field trip sites. Those without vehicles are advised to arrange for their rides in advance during the morning activities. We have been advised by the Arizona State Police that the car-caravans we’ve done in the past are very dangerous on the highways, so we will be meeting at pre-arranged rendezvous point at or near the trip sites. Maps and directions to the meeting points will be provided.

Grab a quick lunch after the panel discussion (or plan on eating at the museum) because then we’ll head north for an afternoon at the wonderful and world famous Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum! Despite the name, the ASDM is more like a zoo, with an incredible array of native wildlife on display in naturalistic and (mostly) outdoor habitats. There’s also a world-class natural history bookstore. Be sure to bring your official conference name badge for FREE admission (a $9 value!) to the museum throughout the conference! If you arrive late to the museum, just use your badge to gain admission and come on in!

3:00-5:00 PM: The Exo Terra ® Spider Mall reopens.

4:00-5:00 PM Tarantula Sexing Station opens: Patrick Mumford is back again to help people to sex their tarantulas using molts and to learn this valuable skill! A variety of techniques will be used and discussed! Bring a molt and learn the sex of the spider it came from or use one of the provided molts to practice.

4:30 -5:00 PM Book signing with Stan Schultz: The third edition of the Tarantula Keeper’s Guide came out this year and Stan Schultz will be here to sign your copy and answer your questions! If you didn’t bring a copy, a limited supply will be available for purchase!


6 PM - 7PM: Picnic Dinner

Following the afternoon’s activities, we’ll get together for a picnic provided courtesy of the ATS! Maps and directions to the picnic site will be provided. Night owls can stick around after the picnic for the scorpion hunt.

7 PM: Scorpion Hunt!

This trip will depart from the picnic site. For all you nocturnal scorpion fans, we’ll be heading into the desert for some blacklighting! Kari will lead a team of scorpion enthusiasts to blacklight the desert flats and hills on the way back to Rio Rico. Many opportunities to view Hadrurus arizonensis, Vaejovis spinigerus, and Vaejovis confusus abound (depending on weather and activity levels), with the possibility of seeing some not-so-common scorpion species and new locality records. Bring blacklights if you have them, spares for others who don't, if possible. Heavy boots and snake chaps are highly suggested, with a limited number of chaps provided for kids. If you are taking a vehicle, please prepare to help those without transportation.

Saturday, July 25

9 AM - 5 PM The Exo Terra ® Spider Mall: Our popular vendor area will be open for business! Come browse an awesome selection of live arthropods, art, crafts, books and supplies!

9:45 AM - 5 PM Lectures:
The lectures will not be given in the order listed below; the conference program will list the correct times.

9:45 AM Opening Remarks – Wade Harrell ATS President

10:00 AM: Giant Spiders Attack: A History of Giant Arthropods in Film

Presented by Wade Harrell

From the classic giant bug movies of the 50’s through the CGI animation of today, giant arthropods have a long history on the silver screen. Through film clips, we’ll explore a wide range of films, from the well-made to the laughably bad in this fun presentation.

Wade Harrell is the current president of the ATS and has written numerous articles for the ATS Forum Magazine, and also contributes material to other publications including Invertebrates Magazine. He is the primary animal keeper at Three Lakes Nature Center in Richmond VA where he oversees the husbandry of several hundred reptiles and amphibians. He also does outreach programs through his side business, Wade Harrell’s Traveling Bug Zoo.

10:30 AM: Cockroaches!

Presented by Orin McMonigle

Discussion includes cockroach hobby history, feeders for arachnids, and pet species including the present knowledge for the heaviest (and most expensive) species in existence.

In order to share his love for our smaller coinhabitants of the planet, Orin McMonigle has published invertebrate husbandry articles in The Keeper, Reptile and Amphibian Hobbyist, Exotic Insekter, Invertebrates-Magazine, Insecta, etc. and presently edits Invertebrates-Magazine. He has authored/co-authored more than a dozen books and care manuals including Allpet Roaches Guide to Pet and Feeder Roaches and Giant Millipedes - the Enthusiast's Handbook.

11:00 AM: So, what does Superstitionia donensis mean, anyway? Etymology and pronunciation, how to say scientific names and know what you're saying.

Presented by Kari McWest

We all have our way of saying those Greek and Latin, and otherwise species names of our critters and those we study, but are there rules for pronunciation? And what do all those weird names like "Theraphosa", "Aphonopelma", and "Anuroctonus" really mean? Why did the authors give these animals such names? Kari will hope to explain some of the answers, but it won't all be boring lists, there are actually many biologists with a sense of humor! Come prepared with questions of your favorite arachnid names.
Incidentally, Superstitionia is for the Superstition Mountains, east of Phoenix, and donensis is for the Dons Camp in Peralta Canyon in the Superstitions, where Stahnke first discovered the species.

Kari McWest is an Associate Editor of the ATS Forum Magazine and has been on the Editorial Board since 1994. His interest in scorpions and tarantulas began at age nine and he has been studying scorpions and desert ecology avidly since the 7th grade in Scottsdale, and high school in Tempe. He has been studying scorpions with Dr. W. David Sissom since 1990 and is part of the REVSYS Vaejovidae Revision team working on the montane scorpions related to Vaejovis vorhiesi with Dr. Sissom. Kari is a Chemist with Tyson Foods, Inc.

12:00 -1:00 Lunch Break

1:00 PM: A Veterinarian's Musings on Tarantulas

Presented by Dr. Kevin Wright

An exotic animal veterinarian discusses common problems encountered with captive tarantulas and offers his perspective on areas of research that would help improve their care in captivity. He will discuss several projects where private hobbyists may contribute their expertise and surplus specimens to improve the understanding of their health and treatments.

Dr. Kevin Wright is co-founder of Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital in Mesa, Arizona (www.azeah.com). He has worked in zoos, aquariums, and private practices for over 20 years and was recently named "Exotic DVM of the Year" by his colleagues. He has a special interest in invertebrates and has maintained over 20 species of tarantulas in the past 15 years and he has bred the beautiful but belligerent Usambara baboon spider. He currently works with a few Brachypelma species and Avicularia versicolor and has a magnificent female Poecilotheria regalis. In addition to tarantulas, he and his wife have maintained various other terrestrial invertebrates including centipedes, walking sticks, darkling beetles, cactus longhorn beetles, Narnia bugs, millipedes, pill millipedes, scorpions, whip scorpions, solfugids, and, of course, a couple of cockroach species. He has published articles on invertebrate care and medicine in proceedings of the North American Veterinary Conference and the late lamented Insecta and Insect and Arachnida magazines.

1:30 PM Millipede Husbandry

Presented by Orin McMonigle
Rearing and breeding tips for the giant spirobolid and spirostreptids with concentration on native species including the largest peninsular species and the albino form of Narceus americanus (only known in captivity).

2:00 PM: An Overview of the Spiders of Southern Arizona

Presented by Jillian H. Cowles

The talk will cover the range and diversity of spiders found in southern Arizona, with a focus on their natural history. Included will be a colorful and photogenic array of jumping spiders, and spiders camouflaged to look like bird droppings. You’ll see bold and aggressive hunters and stealthy kleptoparasites that steal food from the webs of black widows; ambush hunters that blend with the petals of flowers and pirates that raid the webs of other spiders and prey on them; weavers of large webs, and spiders that subdue their prey by spitting venom and glue at them. Feeding, breeding and brood-rearing sequences will be shown for several species.

By vocation a clinical microbiologist, by avocation a field biologist and naturalist, Jillian is building a photographic database of all wildlife, both plant and animal, in the vicinity of her home near Colossal Cave, southeast of Tucson, Arizona. She is a third generation botanist/horticulturist with a healthy sprinkling of entomologists and arachologists in her family. She is currently working on a book on the natural history of spiders and other arachnids of southern Arizona.


3:00 PM USDA Regulations for Live Arthropods: Are You In Compliance?

Presented by Wayne F. Wehling

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service regulations affecting invertebrates will be covered. What does APHIS regulate and why? Which invertebrate organisms require permits and which do not? Who can get permits? All questions will be answered.

A childhood fascination with insects carried Wayne to Colorado St. Univ. for degrees in Entomology and Zoology then Washington St. Univ. for a Masters in Entomology and Ph.D. in Zoology. His doctoral work was on population genetics of host plant utilization in butterflies. A post-doc at Michigan St. Univ. led to positions as insect Collection Manager and Director of Outreach for the Entomology Dept. Since 1999 he has been with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Headquarters in Riverdale, MD as a Senior Entomologist working with permitting and regulatory policy. His primarily focus is on live Arthropod imports for education, zoo and museum exhibits, and butterfly displays. He is also responsible for regulations and policy for honey bees and other pollinators. His professional interests surround the promotion and use of Arthropods in science education. He considers himself an insect ecologist and has kept tarantulas, scorpions, centipedes, etc. for about 15 years.


3:30 PM The potential utility of DNA-based taxonomy in Aphonopelma: a preliminary investigation

Presented by Dr. Brent Hendrixson

Brent will summarize the taxonomic history of Aphonopelma, highlight the many hurdles faced to revise this challenging genus, present new molecular data that shows great potential for solving many of the taxonomic problems, and discuss ways by which conference attendees can contribute to this important research.

Dr. Brent E. Hendrixson is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Millsaps College in Jackson, MS where he teaches organismal biology courses and studies the taxonomy, evolution, biogeography, and conservation of arachnids.

6:00 PM Pizza Party! Come join us for the traditional post-lecture pizza feast! This year, we’ll have the pizza out BEFORE the raffle!

6:30 PM The Legendary ATS Conference Raffle: Be sure to buy plenty of tickets! If you’ve never experienced that raffle, you will NOT believe the quality (and quantity!) of the prizes awarded!

Sunday, July 26th

9:00 AM Field trip (depart Rio Rico by 8:30 AM in order to meet in Green Valley by 9:00 AM).

This trip will depart FROM the town of Green Valley, AZ so be sure to allow a half-hour to get there from Rio Rico. Field trip participants will gather at a pre-arranged meeting place in Green Valley at 9:00 AM to go to locales in that region. After a lunch break (there are plenty of restaurants in Green Valley) we’ll head north towards Mt. Lemmon where we’ll meet for the second part of the trip. Specific meeting places (and directions) to be announced at the conference.


Conference Hotel:

We’ve arranged to keep the same room rate as last year, $87 a night, at the official conference hotel, the beautiful Esplendor Resort in Rio Rico, AZ (approximately 45 minutes south of Tucson). The resort is smack dab in the middle of prime arthropod territory, and offers all the amenities of a true resort hotel! There are many interesting attractions for those family members who may not be as interested in arthropds: http://hhandr.com/esplendor_attractions.php. When making your reservation, be sure to specify that you are part of the American Tarantula Society Conference in order to get the special rate!

Esplendor Resort *Official Conference Hotel*
1069 Camino Caralampi
Rio Rico, AZ 85648
P: 520-281-1901
Toll Free: 1-800-288-4746
E-mail: reservationsaz@hhandr.com
Website: www.esplendor-resort.com

Alternate Hotels:

Nearby Green Valley also has hotel options a mere 15 minutes from the conference hotel, including Baymont Inn (520-399-3736) and the Best Western (520-625-2250).

Camping:

For the adventurous, there’s also camping available at nearby Pena Blanca Lake. For information, contact:

Nogales Ranger District
303 Old Tucson Rd.
Nogales, AZ 85621
(520)-281-2296
(520)-281-2396 FAX

[Wade Harrell]

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