Arizona Blonde Tarantula
by Dennis Boyd
Title
Arizona Blonde Tarantula
Artist
Dennis Boyd
Medium
Photograph
Description
This 3 to 4 inch (70 to 100 mm) large bodied, burrowing spider is commonly seen during the summer rainy season in southwestern deserts. The female is usually a uniform tan color. The male has black legs, a copper-colored cephalothorax and a reddish abdomen. Their burrows can be as large as 1 to 2 inches (25 to 50 mm) in diameter, with some strands of silk across the opening. Tarantulas are nocturnal predators that never venture far from their burrows unless it is mating season. In winter they plug their burrows with soil, rocks, and silk and survive in a relatively inactive state. During this time the animals live off stored fat reserves.
Tarantulas have an interesting defensive capability in addition to venom. Some of the hairs on the top of the abdomen are specialized for defense. These urticating hairs, as they are called, are tipped with backward pointing barbs. If a tarantula is threatened in any way, it brushes these hairs into the face, paw or other body part of its attacker. Once these hairs are embedded, they are irritating and very difficult to remove because of the barbs.
Uploaded
August 7th, 2017
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