Boo
Tarantulas — romance is in the air

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff writer

GALLUP — Pint-sized ghosts and goblins of the two-legged variety aren’t the only creatures to hit the road in October in search of something sweet.

At this time of the year, many creepy crawlers of the eight-legged variety are traversing the Four Corners region. But these other October travelers — hairy male tarantula spiders — are on the move looking for a different kind of sweet reward. Of course, if they’re not careful, the male tarantulas may end up being their future mates’ culinary treat.

October in New Mexico is usually a prime time for sighting the wandering male tarantulas on and alongside roadways. However, like any other aspect of nature, there are apparently boom and bust years for the hairy arachnids.

According to Dr. David B. Richman, curator of the Arthropod Museum at New Mexico State University, factors like weather conditions and food supply will determine how many of the male tarantulas will be on the move during a particular autumn.

Sometimes the population of male tarantulas is so large that it attracts more than just the attention of female tarantulas. Richman said one November he received a call from a Canadian Discovery Channel film crew that wanted to come to New Mexico to film the “huge tarantula migration” taking place. Richman said he explained that although there might be a lot of tarantulas out-and-about, there really weren’t big herds of spiders migrating around the state. He also told them they were a bit late — November’s frosty temperatures would soon kill any remaining wandering tarantulas.

But as to those tarantulas that are out-and-about this autumn, they are newly mature males that have left their burrow in search of a mate. Some of them, Richman said, may end up traversing miles in search of a female.

However, once he finds a suitable female, the tarantula is faced with another challenge: mating with her without becoming her home delivery meal. With hooks on the underside of his legs, Richman explained, the male holds the female far enough away to keep her from eating him.
“It’s a different world out there,” joked Richman of tarantula romance.

Even if he escapes intact, this autumn will be the last hurrah for the male tarantula. He won’t return to his own burrow, and if the tarantula’s arch enemy, the tarantula hawk wasp doesn’t kill him, the coming cold weather temperatures will.

“This is their one shot at leaving progeny,” said Richman, who explained that most males only live for three or four years. Even males kept in a terrarium won’t live a lot longer, he said.

In contrast, female tarantulas, which will return to their burrow to hatch hundreds of baby spiders in the spring, can live for more than 20 years. “I’ve heard of possibilities that they may get 30 years old,” Richman said.

And one last tarantula fact: despite their frightening appearance, most tarantulas from the Southwest rarely bite. If they do, it’s akin to a bee sting, and most people don’t suffer a serious reaction. However, tarantulas do sometimes flick a spray of barbed hairs as a defensive action. Those hairs can cause an irritating reaction if they get on the skin or in the eyes.

Information: Richman at nmbugman@taipan.nmsu.edu