Tarantula - photo: what the most famous spiders look like

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Some people shudder at one photo of this creature, while others keep it at home as a pet. The species is one of the most famous venomous spiders. They are often confused with tarantulas, which is wrong, because the tarantula spider is much smaller. Despite popular belief, the creature's venom is not fatal to humans.

Origin of the species and description

Photo: Tarantula spider

The genus Lycosa comes from the wolf spider family. The name of the species originated in the Renaissance. In the past, Italian cities were infested with these arachnids, which is why many bites were reported, accompanied by convulsions. The disease was called tarantism. Most of the bites were recorded in the city of Taranto, where the name of the spider came from.

Interesting fact: To recover, medieval healers instructed patients to dance until they dropped the Italian tarantella dance, which also originated in Taranto, located in southern Italy. Doctors believed that only this would save those bitten from death. There is a version that all this was arranged for feasts hidden from the eyes of the authorities.

The genus belongs to the phylum arthropods and has 221 subspecies. The most famous of them is the Apulian tarantula. In the 15th century, its poison was believed to cause madness and a variety of epidemiological diseases. It has now been proven that the toxin has no effect on humans. The South Russian tarantula lives in Russia and Ukraine and is known for its black cap.

Interesting fact: The species Lycosa aragogi, found in Iran, is named after the huge spider Aragog from the books about the young wizard “Harry Potter”.

In many European languages, the word tarantula refers to tarantulas. This leads to confusion when translating texts from foreign languages, in particular from English. In modern biology, groups of tarantulas and tarantulas do not intersect. The former belong to araneomorphic spiders, the latter to mygalomorphic ones.

Interesting facts about tarantulas

Although tarantulas inspire fear in many people, they are still peaceful creatures. You can find the largest of them, the size of which is no less than an average plate.

Directors instilled fear in people to a greater extent with their horror films starring tarantulas. The spiders were named after the city in Italy, Tarento. There were a lot of these creatures there. A variety of diseases have been attributed to their bites. Experts recommended smearing a spider bite with its own blood, which contains an antidote.

Appearance and features

Photo: Poisonous tarantula spider

The entire body of the spider is covered with small hairs. The structure of the body is divided into two main parts - the abdomen and the cephalothorax. There are 4 pairs of eyes on the head, 2 of which are small and arranged in a straight line, the rest form a trapezoid by their arrangement.

Video: Tarantula spider

This placement allows you to see everything around in a 360-degree view. In addition to a well-developed visual apparatus, tarantulas have a hypersensitive sense of smell. This gives them the opportunity to smell prey at fairly large distances.

The sizes of arthropods are quite large:

body length - 2-10 cm;
leg length - 30 cm;
females weigh up to 90 g.

Like other insects, female spiders are significantly larger than males. Throughout their lives, individuals molt several times. The more often this happens, the faster they age. On four pairs of long, hairy legs, the spider moves comfortably across sand or water surfaces. The forelimbs of males are more developed than those of females.

Interesting fact: The limbs can only bend, so the wounded individual becomes weak and vulnerable. The legs bend thanks to the flexor muscles, and extend under the pressure of the hemolymph. The skeleton of arachnids is also weak, so any fall could be their last.

Chelicerae (mandibles) are equipped with poisonous ducts. Thanks to them, arthropods can defend themselves or attack. The color of spiders is usually gray, brown or black. Sexual dimorphism is well developed. American tarantulas are considered the largest. Their European counterparts are significantly smaller in size.

Where does the tarantula spider live?

Danger to humans

Formally, the Mizgir is a poisonous spider, but its poison does not threaten human life and health. The bite of this tarantula is similar to the bite of a hornet. Causes swelling, redness, aching.

The poison is weakly active and does not contain protein toxins that cause paralysis of the nervous system. The skin at the site of the bite may turn yellow. Swelling and pain sometimes persist for about 2 months. But no reaction from the nervous or other systems will follow.

Due to summer droughts in 2013, the spider migrated to the Southern Urals, where local authorities issued a warning about the danger. The South Ural tarantula is no more poisonous than its relatives, but it has been reported that a small child may not survive its bite.

The first actions in case of a bite: kill the biting spider, squeeze its blood into the wound, sprinkle it with ashes or burn it with charcoal (cigarette). Then you should take an antihistamine (anti-allergy) and seek medical help.

Precautionary measures:

in potentially dangerous areas, you should not walk barefoot near water bodies or on loose areas of land;
when camping before going to bed, you need to carefully inspect tents and sleeping bags;
Don't tease the tarantula. Mizgir, sensing danger, will definitely bite. He doesn’t run away, but immediately takes a stance. It attacks suddenly, striking the victim at a distance of 20 to 30 cm on a horizontal surface, jumping up to 20 cm in height.

The big Mizgir itself is non-aggressive. The person is of no interest to him. He won't just bite. An attack can be provoked by grabbing the abdomen, irritating with various objects or hands.

It is not recommended to keep such animals in homes where there are children.

What does the tarantula spider eat?

Photo: Tarantula spider in Russia

Tarantulas are real predators. They wait for their victims from an ambush, and then quickly pounce on them.

The diet of arthropods includes many insects and amphibians:

Zhukov;
caterpillars;
cockroaches;
mole cricket;
crickets;
ground beetles;
small frogs.

Having caught prey, the arachnids inject their poison into it, thereby paralyzing it. When the poison begins to act, the victim's internal organs turn into a liquid substance, which after some time the tarantulas suck out like a cocktail.

Typically, predators select prey according to their size and spread out their food intake over several days. Individuals can go without food for a long time, but having a constant source of water is a must. There is a known case where a female tarantula was able to go without food for two years.

Near the burrow, arachnids pull signal threads. As soon as they feel that someone is crawling past their home, they immediately crawl out and grab the prey. If the prey turns out to be large, the predator jumps back and jumps on it again to bite it again.

If the prey tries to retreat, the spider chases it for up to half an hour, occasionally inflicting new bites. All this time he tries to stay at a safe distance from the victim. Usually at the end of the battle the animal gets its way and gets a well-deserved lunch.

King Baboon Tarantula

Tarantula king baboon

This is the largest tarantula spider, its body length reaches 23 cm. The king baboon tarantula is light red to dark brown in color. The body is covered with short hairs. It has very strong and large legs, especially its hind leg (8 - that’s how many legs tarantulas have). Thanks to this, he takes a stance, warning his enemy of the attack. At the same time, he rubs his paws and makes a characteristic sound. Lives in eastern Africa, Kenya, Tanzania. The king baboon feeds on large insects, lizards, and small birds. Many lovers of exotic spiders want to have such a handsome spider in their home, but the question arises: is it dangerous? The king baboon is quite aggressive and fast, his character is unpredictable. If something goes wrong, he can easily bite you. So beginners in this business should be careful. Its venom is not fatal to humans, but causes pain, burning and swelling at the site of the bite. It also has large and sharp chelicerae (jaws) with which it pierces the skin. As you can see, a tarantula bite is not fatal to humans, but quite painful. Therefore, with peaceful and correct coexistence with him in your home, you will only receive pleasure from contemplating these beautiful creatures. Caring for them does not require much effort. The main thing is to adhere to the temperature and humidity in which this or that species is used to being.

You already understand what to feed the tarantula. The above species have the same tastes - these are live insects. But how much a tarantula costs depends on the species: the more exotic the tarantula, the higher its price. Don't be afraid to have tarantulas in your home, it's an amazing experience. But at the same time, do not forget about the characteristics of your pet and be careful.

Features of character and lifestyle

Photo: Tarantula spider

Tarantulas, unlike their counterparts, do not spin webs. They are active hunters and prefer to catch prey on their own. They use webs as traps to find out about a beetle or other insect running past. Weaves can warn of approaching danger.

The arthropods sit in the hole all day, and in the evening they emerge from the shelter to hunt. With the onset of cold weather, they seal the entrance to their cave and hibernate. Among the individuals there are real long-livers. Some subspecies can exist up to 30 years. The main part of the species lives on average 3-10 years. Females have a longer lifespan.

The growth of the spider does not stop at any stage of development. Therefore, their exoskeleton changes several times as they grow older. This allows the animal to regrow lost limbs. With the next moult, the leg will grow back, but will be much smaller than the rest of the limbs. After the next molt, it will reach normal size.

Interesting fact: Spiders mostly move on the ground, but sometimes they climb trees or other objects. Tarantulas have claws on their paws, which they, like cats, extend to have better grip on the surface on which they climb.

Social structure and reproduction

Photo: Poisonous tarantula spider

The period of sexual activity occurs in the last month of summer. The male weaves a web, after which he begins to rub his belly against it. This provokes ejaculation of seminal fluid, which flows onto the web. The male plunges his pedipalps into it, which absorb sperm and become ready for fertilization.

Next comes the stage of searching for a female. Having found a suitable candidate, the male emits vibrations with his abdomen and performs ritual dances, which attracts females. They lure out hiding females by tapping their paws on the ground. If the partner reciprocates, the spider inserts its pedipalps into her cloaca and fertilization occurs.

Then the male quickly retreats so as not to become food for his chosen one. The female weaves a cocoon in the hole in which she lays eggs. Their number can reach 50-2000 pieces at a time. The female carries the offspring on herself for another 40-50 days. The hatched babies move from the mother's abdomen to the back and remain there until they are able to hunt on their own.

The spiderlings grow quickly and soon begin to taste the prey caught by their mother. After the first moult they scatter. By 2-3 years, predators become sexually mature. During this period, arthropods lose their instinct of self-preservation and are easy to meet in broad daylight.

What to do if bitten by a tarantula?

The toxicity of tarantulas depends on many factors - their species, gender, age, time of year. For example, in April spiders are not particularly active. They just woke up and are practically in no danger.

There are fewer spider bites, and they are not very toxic. In mid-May, spiders begin to lay their eggs and become more active. Aggression awakens in them and along with this toxicity increases.

The beginning of June is characterized by a 3-fold increase in toxicity. It is at this time that spiders mate and migrate. This is the most dangerous time. Only in September does the toxicity of tarantulas decrease.

In essence, the poison of these invertebrates does not pose a great danger to humans. The only exceptions are people prone to allergies and small children.

A tarantula bite may be accompanied by local pain, redness of the skin at the site of the bite, swelling, general malaise, drowsiness, and increased temperature. For some, these symptoms include dizziness and nausea.

Apulian tarantula

The bite site is under no circumstances cauterized. The bite should not be cut. This can lead to infection. Scratching is also contraindicated. You must first wash the bite with antibacterial or regular soap, followed by an antiseptic.

Applying cold can reduce the pain comparatively. A large amount of water will help quickly remove toxic substances. And taking antihistamines will relieve allergies. In case of sudden deterioration in health or bite of small children, it is better to call an ambulance.

Natural enemies of tarantula spiders

Photo: Black tarantula spider

The tarantula has quite a few enemies. The main culprits in the death of arthropods are birds, since they are part of the diet of birds. Wasps encroach on the life of arachnids, just as spiders do with their victims. They inject poison into the tarantula's body, paralyzing the predator.

They then lay eggs inside the spider. Parasites live and develop, after which they get out. Natural enemies include some types of ants and mantises, which are not at all picky about food and eat everything that moves. Frogs and lizards are not averse to eating tarantulas.

The most dangerous enemy is still the same spider. Arthropods tend to eat each other. A female, during the process of fertilization, can encroach on the life of a male individual, like a female praying mantis, or eat her offspring if she cannot trap some insect.

There is continuous hostility between tarantulas and mole crickets. Their habitats overlap. Mole crickets dig the soil, where spiders often climb. Sometimes individuals manage to escape. Wounded or molting arthropods usually become food for the enemy.

In general, the population suffers most in early spring. When lethargic and sleepy arachnids crawl out of their shelters, the mole cricket is right there. Sometimes they climb into spider holes and attack tarantulas with their forelimbs, delivering heavy blows. When the spider loses a lot of blood, the mole cricket eats it.

Population and species status

Photo: Tarantula spider

Tarantulas are most common in forest-steppe, steppe and desert areas. Their numbers are gradually decreasing every year, but over the past ten years, wolf spiders have managed to stop the process of population decline and even stabilize it. Climate warming has had a beneficial effect on this.

One of the main reasons for the decline in arthropod numbers is commercial activity. In third world countries, arachnids are caught in order to sell them for little money and earn food. In countries with less developed economies, there has been a significant decline in the number of tarantulas.

From 1995 to 2004 in the Republic of Tatarstan, the species was recorded in the Nizhnekamsk, Elabuga, Zelenodolsk, Tetyushsky, Chistopol, and Almetyevsk regions, where its appearance was recorded from 3 to 10 times. Mostly, individuals are found alone.

Tropical forests are being cut down at a significant rate due to population growth. In Bolivia and Brazil, artisanal methods of gold and diamond mining are used, which destroys the soil. Water is pumped underground, as a result of which the integrity of the earth's surface is damaged. This, in turn, leads to negative consequences for the existence of the animal world.

Feeding at home

Particular attention should be paid to the process of feeding the tarantula. To do this, use the following rules.

For food, use grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches, even small mammals .

IMPORTANT! It is strictly contraindicated to feed an animal insects from the street! They can carry various diseases.

It is enough to feed an adult once a week . With more frequent feeding, complications may arise.
Once a month you should add vitamins and beneficial microelements to the food..
During molting and 3 days after it, you should not feed the spider.