Neoholothele incei – Trinidad olive tarantula

The typical form has an olive-brown body, slightly paler legs and a characteristic abdominal pattern: a dark field with pale transverse marks in a herringbone pattern. The hobby also keeps the “gold” form (Neoholothele incei gold), with a lighter, golden or orange body. It is a colour form fixed in captivity, not a separate species.

Females reach about 3 cm in body length; males are smaller with longer legs. Adult males are recognised by the swollen bulbs on their pedipalps.

The World Spider Catalog gives the range as Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. The species was described by F. O. Pickard-Cambridge in the late 19th century in the genus Holothele. In 2015 Guadanucci and Weinmann moved it to their newly described genus Neoholothele, and in 2016 Neoholothele vellardi was synonymised with it.

Older sources and listings may therefore use the name Holothele incei. The trade also uses the English name “Trinidad olive tarantula”.

This species does well in small enclosures. An adult female needs a floor of about 20 × 20 cm. A larger tank does no harm, but the spider will web mostly around its hide anyway, and it is harder to see in a big enclosure.

Use 5–8 cm of substrate so the spider can dig a shallow burrow under cork bark. Anchor points for the web are important: cork, dry twigs, artificial plants. Neoholothele incei quickly covers everything in dense silk, including the water dish, so place the dish against a wall where it is easy to lift out.

The ideal temperature is 22–27°C. The species comes from humid forest, so the lower layer of substrate should stay slightly moist and the surface should not dry out completely for long. The easiest method is to water part of the substrate along one edge once or twice a week.

Humidity must not mean stale air. Ventilation holes on two sides give cross-flow, and the web itself helps protect the spider from drying out. Excess water combined with food remains caught in the web quickly leads to mould.

Juveniles eat small crickets, roaches or cut mealworms every few days, adults once a week. The spider usually grabs prey when it touches the web and leaves remains woven into the silk; remove them regularly with tongs.

Neoholothele incei grows very fast and often matures in about a year. It is one of the easiest tarantulas to breed: after a single mating, females can produce several egg sacs with dozens of spiderlings each. That is why the species is widely available and usually inexpensive.

This is a fast, skittish spider. When disturbed it usually retreats into its web, but it can also bolt out of the hide or rear up defensively. It has no urticating hairs, so its defences are flight and biting. The venom is considered mild, but a bite can hurt and cause local redness.

The species is sometimes described as one of the tarantulas that tolerate communal keeping. In practice this needs a large enclosure, siblings from one egg sac, generous feeding and acceptance of losses, because cannibalism does happen, especially around moults. For most keepers, keeping them singly is the safer choice.