Tarantula

A tarantula is a large, hairy spider found in warm parts of the world. Tarantulas belong to a group of spiders called Theraphosidae. There are about 1,000 different species. They live in deserts, grasslands, and rainforests across North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Most tarantulas are brown or black, but some are striped, spotted, or bright blue.

Tarantulas are much bigger than common house spiders. A typical tarantula has a leg span of four to five inches. The largest kind, the Goliath birdeater of South America, has a leg span up to 12 inches. That is about the size of a dinner plate. Despite its name, the Goliath birdeater rarely eats birds. It mostly eats insects, frogs, and small lizards.

Like all spiders, a tarantula has eight legs and two main body parts. It also has eight small eyes, but its eyesight is poor. Instead, a tarantula senses the world through tiny hairs on its legs and body. These hairs can feel vibrations in the ground and in the air. That is how a tarantula knows when prey is near.

Tarantulas are hunters, but they do not spin webs to catch food. Most of them live in burrows in the ground. They line the opening with silk and wait just inside. When an insect or small animal walks by, the tarantula rushes out, grabs it, and sinks in two sharp fangs. The fangs inject venom that turns the prey's insides to liquid. The tarantula then sucks up the meal.

A tarantula bite hurts, but for most humans it is about as bad as a bee sting. No person has ever been known to die from a tarantula bite. Tarantulas have a stranger defense too. Many species from the Americas can kick tiny barbed hairs off their bellies with their back legs. These hairs itch and sting badly if they get in an attacker's eyes or nose.

Female tarantulas can live a surprisingly long time. Some species live 20 to 30 years in the wild. Males usually only live a few years after becoming adults. Tarantulas grow by molting, which means shedding their old skin. A young tarantula might molt once a year. During molting, the spider lies on its back and looks dead. It is actually just slipping out of its old body.

In many movies, tarantulas play the role of scary monsters. Real tarantulas are shy. They would rather hide than fight.