Tarantulas Take Hooking Up To The Next Level | Deep Look

Every fall, male tarantulas leave home for good with one thing on their minds: sex. But before these spiders can make the ultimate connection, they have to survive the perils of the open road...which include their potential mates.

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Every September, a generation of newly mature male tarantulas leave their underground homes to wander the landscape south of La Junta, Colorado, to look for mates. The lucky males will find females, who remain near their dens the whole lives, and possibly mate. But this so-called “migration” is a one‐way trip.

Among the many risks for these itinerant tarantulas, besides running out of time and becoming roadkill, are the local tarantula hawks. The two‐inch long, blue‐and‐gold wasps pounce on the unsuspecting arachnid travelers, hit them with a paralyzing sting, then drag them off to their lairs. Once there, the female wasp lays an egg on the spider that eventually hatches into a larva. The larva burrows inside him to feast and grow before emerging from his body, Alien‐like, as an adult.

If a male does survive long enough to find a den, he courts the female by first “knocking” at the entrance by tapping the ground with his front mouth parts, called pedipalps. He must rely on vibration to communicate his intentions, since tarantulas are mostly blind. If the larger and more dangerous female comes out to investigate, they face off at the den entrance. She may reply with drumming of her own to indicate that she’s receptive ‐‐ or she might try to eat him.

But he’s come prepared. When male tarantulas reach maturity, right before they set out on their quest, they develop a special set of clasps on their front legs called “tibial hooks.” Tibial hooks serve a single purpose: to fasten underneath the female’s fangs during courtship, allowing him to keep danger at arm’s length, so to speak.

--- Are tarantulas dangerous?

Though they do have venom, tarantulas don’t typically bite humans. If they do, the bite hurts no more than a papercut.

--- How long do tarantulas live?

The adult males of this species usually only live ten years, but females can live much longer, 30-40 years.

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---+ More Great Deep Look episodes about spiders:

Turret Spiders Launch Sneak Attacks From Tiny Towers


Why the Male Black Widow is a Real Home Wrecker


---+ Shoutout!

🏆Congratulations 🏆to the following fans on our YouTube community tab for correctly identifying the body part that male tarantulas use for drumming up interest from females - the pedipalps!

Mitchel Castellon
TheWhiteScatterbug
Ian B
Dragim Yutto
Lydia Liu

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