Desert Tarantula
This guy was swimming in the pool, or should I say, floating. All his legs were tucked under his body, and he was probably wondering how he got in the water! I didn't get a picture of him floating as I was in too much of a hurry to get whatever it was out of the pool, hopefully alive. I fished him out with the pool net and as soon as he touched the ground he was ready, willing and anxious to crawl out of that net.
He really is a handsome guy but a little rambunctious right now. It is up to 3 inches in size, a large, hairy, brown to gray heavy-bodied spider. The coloring makes it a little hard to spot if you are lucky to see one during the day. They are primarily nocturnal but can be spotted at dusk and dawn when feeding or seeking a mate. They rest under rocks or hide in burrows during the day.
The largest desert spider is not poisonous but its bite can be awfully painful if provoked. It feeds on insects like beetles, grasshoppers, small lizards and mice. The tarantula chases down its prey instead of snaring them in webs. but it may fall victim to the large and colorful tarantula hawk wasp.
Search my Blog for, "It Has Come Down to This"! to read about my favorite bug, the tarantula hawk wasp.
I'm watching you!
(Copyright 2013)
No comments:
Post a Comment