5/23/2022: The end of wild caught Phidippus regius

It’s been a long time coming, but the days of fast n’ loose wild caught Phidippus regius may be coming to a close.

In keeping with my sustainable harvesting values and the collector’s population management goals, the number of wild caught individuals will decrease dramatically soon. Most of the reliable spots are being picked over by the demand, and although regius aren’t slow breeders, the populations need time to recover from the last few years of collecting pressure.

I’ve begun a captive rearing and breeding program to sustainably meet the demand between collecting closures like this, and it may eventually become a better model for making them available. With this, expect price increases on the site and smaller spiders being shipped out, BUT these will be captive stock.

-Kyle