Tarantula!

While CG was on "fire ant patrol" after this morning's rain, he came across this horrible creature crawling through the grass just west of the yard fence-line. [Disclaimer: I hate spiders, snakes, bugs, fish, and all things creepy crawly. I am occasionally even creeped out by butterflies. I know, I know... it's irrational. Nonetheless, it's my phobia and I'll be creeped out if want to. What follows are the photos CG took and his report on the creepy creature. Don't forget to click on the photos to see a larger version... if you dare... which, I don't.]


It is a Texas Brown Tarantula (scientific name Aphonopelma anax, from the Theraphosidae arachnid family).

Here is a shot of Ms. Brown turned and ready to fight:



Although quite menacing looking, and sometimes large (as in this case, she's about eight inches in diameter), the Texas Brown Tarantula is for the most part harmless. Tarantulas do bite on rare occasions, if they're handled roughly or provoked, but most of the time strike this kind of defensive posture and then run away. When threatened, the first thing a spider like Ms. Brown will do is turn to face the threat. She (or he) will raise the forelegs, waving them slowly, and raise their prosoma (the pair of "arms" in front of the forelegs). The next stage of threat response may be to jump forward at the attacker, or to turn and run. This species also has tiny hairs on the abdomen, uticary hairs that it flicks off its body toward an attacker. The tiny hairs are irritants to the attacker's eyes and mucous membranes.

Tarantulas molt as they grow, shedding the exoskeleton which can sometimes be found next to small rocks or fallen limbs the spider uses to help remove its old, outgrown skin. In captivity (the brown tarantula is a common pet), females can live 25 years or longer. In the wild, males die after several months, while females may live several years. In nature, they usually live in ground burrows lined with silk webs, under rock outcrops, dead logs and stumps, or will sometimes take over the burrow of a mouse or other ground-burrowing animal.

They generally eat other insects like crickets, grasshoppers and moths. In a few cases, they can grow large enough (hand-sized) to be capable of eating small lizards, birds, frogs and toads. Tarantulas have fangs on the ends of their chelicerae (teeth-like jaw arms or mandibles). The fangs are used to inject venom into the tarantula's prey, as well as digestive fluids (spiders don't chew their food, instead they dissolve it, and drink the resulting juices). Tarantula bites are akin to wasp stings, and about as painful unless you are unlucky enough to be allergic to the spider's venom, which in rare cases result in fatal allergic reactions.

Waving bye-bye: