So last night, I was talking to someone on social media about the large number of tarantulas that live in my area of Arizona vs what I was used to occasionally seeing California. I decided to do an "experiment" and see how quickly I could find one or more if I left the house right then. I walked outside and found #1 within five minutes and another within ten minutes, but the thing that was really amazing to me was that Tarantula #1 had made a kill and was dragging it to it's den. It had a freaking MOUSE!!!!

I knew these fed on large insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, and small lizards, but only learned last night that they'll take small rodents too. These "Arizona Blondes" are tough!

I think they're beautiful but I hate any other type of spider. I see them on the roadway and move them off to safety. They do more good than harm. We just saw what a Pepsis Wasp does to a Tarantula this week. Stung, alive, then host to the wasp's larvae. What a way to go.

https://www.desertmuseum.org/k...ts/Pepsis%20Wasp.php

quote:

Originally posted by az4783054:
I think they're beautiful but I hate any other type of spider. I see them on the roadway and move them off to safety. They do more good than harm. We just saw what a Pepsis Wasp does to a Tarantula this week. Stung, alive, then host to the wasp's larvae. What a way to go.

https://www.desertmuseum.org/k...ts/Pepsis%20Wasp.php

I've actually learned that some people will rescue the paralyzed tarantulas, keep them in a terrarium and feed them a bit of water regularly, and they can recover! Tough critters!

I'm like you as to most spiders (HATE blackwidows), but jumping spiders and crab spiders are very interesting as well as beautiful.

Nice picture. They are amazing critters and fun to watch. As many of you guys, I am not a big fan of spiders other than Tarantulas or the Daddy Long Leg type. Occasionally we get some good size Wolf spiders in the house,amazing at how big and fast they are, as well as territorial.

I swear to God if I lived near you my house would have a moat filled with Molton lava, fire and a holy blessing from as many major religions as I could get.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
I swear to God if I lived near you my house would have a moat filled with Molton lava, fire and a holy blessing from as many major religions as I could get.

. Dont much like any of these critters either.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
I swear to God if I lived near you my house would have a moat filled with Molton lava, fire and a holy blessing from as many major religions as I could get.

my wife would give them all names,

if she saw them before the cats crunched them up

Which part of AZ? All I get are scorpions in the VotS.

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Originally posted by HuskySig:
Which part of AZ? All I get are scorpions in the VotS.

North Scottsdale. A couple of nights ago, I took another ten minute walk and counted six of them. Two were either young ones or of a very small variety, with one of those being less than 1/2" across (from leg tip to leg tip.

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
I swear to God if I lived near you my house would have a moat filled with Molton lava, fire and a holy blessing from as many major religions as I could get.

my wife would give them all names,

if she saw them before the cats crunched them up

Ohhh I’d give them names too, I just suspect mine would be a wee bit different then your wife’s.

Tarantulas are not the only spiders that feast on mice. Back in the 1970s on a deployment in South Carolina my troops discovered a Black Widow spider near my desk with a thorax about the size of a marble, eating a small mouse. (My office was a canvas building.) That spider did not survive.

flashguy

 
I like having the tarantulas around. They're docile except towards their prey. My wife hates, absolutely hates, all bugs, but the tarantula triggers the highest decibel noise from her.
 
Black widows are another matter. I have great respect (fear) for them. I can avoid ones I can see, but they tend to build their homes underneath the seat part of our porch chairs, a surprise waiting to happen. Our exterminator (local guy) always makes it a point to spray the underside of those chairs.