Few are the spiders that evoke more fear in people than the Tarantula. A species that is probably more feared than the Tarantula is the Black Widow. Well, this is mostly a result of fear-inducing legends and myths which have been around for centuries and which unfortunately is being aided by Hollywood as Tarantulas have been featured as villains in a handful of movies. But, are Tarantulas really as deadly as the movies and myths would have us believe?
The spiders we often refer to as Tarantulas belong to the family Theraphosidae with over 800 known species. Tarantulas come in various colours but the commonest are brown, black, striped and those brightly coloured. Like other spiders, they have a body divisible into two sections; the cephalothorax and the abdomen, eight legs, eight eyes and two prominent fangs. Unlike other spider species however, they are often quite hairy and sometimes use this distinctive feature to their advantage. Tarantulas usually weigh 28 to 85 grams (or 1 to 3 ounces) and are 5-9 cm (or 2 to 3.5 inches) long. Female Tarantulas usually get much larger than their male counterparts. The largest Tarantula sub specie is called the Goliath Birdeater. It can reach a body length of up to 13 cm (5 inches) with a leg span of 30 cm (almost 12 inches) and weight up to 200 gram. That’s about 7 ounces.
Tarantulas can be found in all continents except Antarctica. South America is home to majority of the known species. In North America, they are often found in southern and south western states. In these places, they prefer habitats with high temperature, arid lands and rain forests. Most tarantulas live in ground burrows which they may borrow or dig themselves. Others live in webbed tree burrows, caves, bark of trees, caves, cliffs, and sometimes in the leaves of pineapple and bananas. They have been in existence for over 350 millions years during which they have evolved and developed suitable mechanisms to suit their various environments.
The male tarantula is actually a perfect gentleman when it comes to courtship. He is often the one you will come across wandering around especially during summer when he is in search of a mate. Once the female’s burrow is located through the scent she leaves behind, he spins a web which he sprays with seed. Like a perfect gentleman, he then gently knocks on the door of the female’s burrow by tapping on the silken web which the female constructed at the entrance of the burrow. This alerts the female of his presence after which he performs a series of courtship displays. If the female is not interested, she will ignore him or worse, try to eat him. If he is accepted, she’ll mate with him. Once the male is done, he’ll leave immediately otherwise, if he lingers around, he might get eaten!
The tarantula is a carnivore. Small species will often settle for crickets, bugs, caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles, cicadas, and sometimes other smaller tarantulas and species of spiders. The bigger Tarantulas such as the Goliath Birdeater would often hunt larger preys such as: toads, lizards, frogs, snakes, rats, bats, mice, birds and their hatchlings. It feeds by injecting its victim with its venomous fangs. This paralyzes the prey and afterwards, the injected digestive enzyme help liquefy it for easy ingestion. While hunting, the Tarantula sometimes spins just one thread of silk web to act as a trip line or a prey alert system. It doesn’t snare, it hunts the old fashioned way using its venom. On the other way round, Tarantulas have several natural predators. These include birds, lizards, fishes, tarantula hawks (which is actually a wasp and not a bird), coyotes, monkeys, snakes, centipedes, scorpions, foxes, and of course other Tarantulas. But their most deadly enemy are tarantula hawks and humans.
Since Tarantulas are common household pets, it follows that they are not so dangerous to humans. Unlike their mythical reputation which depicts them as having a lethal bite, Tarantulas are indeed venomous, but their venom is by no means lethal to humans unless it causes an allergic reaction. If one gets bitten, which in itself is rare, the tarantula would rarely bite a human with the use of venom. To a human being, the venom is mild, no more than that of a honey bee sting. But, to their prey, it is often deadly. Even if their bite is not deadly for us, it still does hurt a lot. In fact, Tarantulas are shy with humans and would naturally run away. If cornered or threatened however, they go into defensive mode. This often involves a show of aggression in which the Tarantula stands on its hind legs and raises its two front legs in order to appear bigger. If the intruder does not back down, certain species, excluding those in Africa and Asia, would rub their legs on the underside of their abdomen throwing the urticating hair (called bristles) at the intruder with fairly good aim.
Narrator: Larry G. Jones
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