Posted on 09/07/2021 3:19:17 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
It's that time of year again — Colorado's tarantula "migration" is underway.
This annual phenomenon has gathered an increase in public interest and fascination over the past few years.
The quotes around migration are there for a reason. It's not quite accurate to call their movements a migration, as they're simply just visible more than other times of year and appear to be marching around on a mission. But the phrase caught on.
...male tarantulas in the southeastern part of the state will leave the safety of their burrows to search for females
And it’s only the males that walk around. You don’t see the females at all.
The males don't live long after mating. Death by predator, car or starvation — or rather, lack of interest in eating anything — typically follow. And in some cases, if the female is cranky, she may eat him, said Paula Cushing, a biologist with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
Male tarantulas are sexually mature once they reach about 7 years old, and can live for about a decade. Females can live well beyond that — up to 30 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedenverchannel.com ...
😎
Looks like good fish bait to me.
We had a project near ground zero 1, staying in Socorro. We closed up shop and would head back to Illinois from the Albuquerque airport. It was about the time of the Balloon Festival and before y2k and 9-11. These fellows seem to like to sit on the road and absorb some solar effect warmth. We needed to have one at home for educational purposes for the boys. We brown bagged our lunch and while leaving the base, I spotted a relative of your friend. Soon he was in the bag and travelled as carry on luggage all the way to Champaign. We fed him crickets, but we never did see him jump. We bought him some crickets, but he only lasted about half a year.
“Another great memory is watching a battle between a wasp and a tarantula. The wasp won.”
Wonder if that was a tarantula hawk. They paralyze the tarantula and lay their eggs on it. The larvae eat the spider alive.
I’d post the Andrew Dice Clay version, but it’s not family-friendly.
I actually drove thru a migration. It was fall of 2001 and we were driving along some backroad on our way to Grand Junction. It was just a bit before sunset and I saw this huge black swath moving down the hill, over the road, down to a field. I may have yelped when I said what the holy hell is that? My coworker, who was driving, got extremely excited and said oh my God, I’ve always wanted to be here for this. He tells me its thousands of tarantulas and he wants to stop the car and walk amongst them. Hi pitched screaming and physical threats ensued and we did not stop to walk amongst those creepy, furry spiders. Shiver.
I have driven over tarantulas in southern Colorado around this time.
I didn’t mean to hurt them, but they run pretty fast and I couldn’t evade them.
—”we did not stop to walk amongst those creepy, furry spiders.”
I lived in the Great State of Texas in the 1970s.
Riding out in the hills I see this large tarantula, a friend had one as a pet, I wanted it.
I find a large empty milk carton and attempting to direct it into the carton with a stick; not easy.
A cowboy stops his trucks and asks whats up?
He gently picks up the spider and shows me how to handle it, and CLAIMS they are safe???? I might be dumb but not crazy!
Colorado Ping ( Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the list.)
We have ‘em, in Texas, as well.
I wonder if even the Tarantula’s are moving to Texas, too. Maybe they’re hitchhikers :-)
Nonvenomous snakes are fine for me; spiders I can’t stand.
A truly obscure Who song, by John Entwhistle, no doubt.
Back to the topic though - not a fan of spiders or insects in general. (Snakes either, if we're being honest) But I figure if I leave them alone to do their thing, they'll leave me alone. It's worked out pretty well for a few decades.
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