A male tarantula searches for a mate near La Junta, Colorado.
Image: AP
In the small town of La Junta in the USA, the mating season of the tarantulas native to the surrounding area is a spectacle every year. There is even a festival dedicated to the animals – with some bizarre program items.
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- Tarantula mating season attracts hundreds of spider lovers to the small town of La Junta.
- For the residents of La Junta, tarantulas are not scary creatures.
- In the city, visitors celebrate the “Tarantula Festival” – for example in the form of competitions in which they demonstrate their spider-like abilities.
There’s a hint of love in the air in the US state of Colorado – the kind that makes your heart beat a little faster and the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Because it is mating season for the native tarantulas. The male animals venture out of their hiding place to find a mate. And the spectacle attracts hundreds of spider lovers to the small town of La Junta.
Scientists, spider enthusiasts and curious families from Colorado piled onto buses just before dusk last weekend to scour the region’s arid plains. Some used flashlights or car headlights to observe the spiders after sunset.
Back in the city, the visitors indulged in the “Tarantula Festival” – for example in the form of competitions in which they could put their spider-like abilities to the test. This year, the title in the hairiest legs comparison went to a woman. There was also a car parade in which vintage cars drove gigantic spider dummies on their roofs. The classic 1990 film “Arachnophobia” aired at the historic Fox Theater.
That takes courage: A man lets a tarantula run over his hand.
Image: dpa
For the residents of La Junta, however, tarantulas are not the nightmarish creatures they often appear to be on screen. They are an important part of the local ecosystem and attract people from all over the country who might otherwise never have come to the southeastern Colorado community.
Neighbors spoke enthusiastically about all the out-of-towners they met during the third year of the spider festival. Among them was Nathan Villareal, a tarantula breeder from Santa Monica, California. He had heard about the mating season and knew straight away that it was a spectacle he couldn’t miss.
Villareal sells tarantulas as pets to people across the United States. He says he has been fascinated by spiders since he was a child. Tarantulas of the “Colorado Brown” variety are particularly present in the La Junta area. They build their dens in the largely undisturbed prairies of the Comanche National Grassland.
Red and white Brazilian tarantula
Like many tarantula species, the red and white Brazilian tarantula is equipped with so-called stinging hairs. These animals are also called bombardier spiders because they can hurl their stinging hairs at the enemy when in danger.
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In September and October, the males migrate to find the burrows of their female counterparts, which are usually marked with a silky net. The best time to observe is an hour before dusk, when the heat of the day recedes. “We saw at least a dozen tarantulas on the road, and when we went back, we saw a dozen more,” Villareal said.
It takes about seven years for male tarantulas to reach sexual maturity. Then they spend the rest of their existence looking for a mate, said Cara Shillington, a biology professor at Eastern Michigan University who studies spiders. Typically, they live about another year after reaching sexual maturity, she said. Females could live 20 years or more.
The males can grow up to around 13 centimeters long. They draw attention to themselves by drumming in front of a female’s den. When the lady of choice is ready to mate, she comes out. And just as quickly as things get going, the male tries to get away again – so as not to end up as a supplier of nutrients for the generally slightly larger female, who has to be well looked after in order to complete the pregnancy bring to.
“Tarantulas only bite out of fear”
Like many who attend Tarantula Fest, Shillington is passionate about teaching others not to be afraid of tarantulas and other spiders. The tarantulas found in North America are usually rather good-natured. Their poison is not considered particularly dangerous to humans, but can cause pain and irritation. When you meet the animals, the fear lies with them, said Shillington. “Tarantulas only bite out of fear.” That’s just how the animals defended themselves. And if you put them in a situation where they think they’re going to bite, then there’s no reason to be afraid.
Many children who attended the festival in La Junta with their families learned that spiders are not as scary as they may seem. Roslyn Gonzales, 13, said she couldn’t wait to go look for the animals.
For student Goran Shikak, who has several spider tattoos on his arm, the annual festival is an opportunity to celebrate tarantulas and share his passion for them with others. “They are beautiful creatures,” said Shikak, who studies arachnology, the science of arachnids, at the University of Colorado Denver. Observing the behavior of animals in the wild is a joy – and an experience that is worthwhile.
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