SWARMS of randy tarantulas are invading the US as annual mating season begins – find out where the arachnid hotspots are.
Tens of thousands of the creatures are emerging from the ground as high temperatures and moisture drive the creatures out of their burrows.
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Texas is currently in full-blown mating season, with the creatures popping out of grasslands and deserts in South Texas, Austin American-Statesman reports.
At the end of summer and the start of fall, in California, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and New Mexico, the randy tarantulas will be crawling out of the underground to find females.
In Colorado especially, tarantulas are a major attraction, with the municipality of La Junta telling people to try and catch the eight-legged creatures an hour before dusk around the Comanche National Grassland.
Senior scientist with California State Parks Dan McCamish told USA Today: “If you’re lucky enough you can sometimes see them in hordes crossing the roads at certain times of year.”
If you see any tarantulas, leave them be, as they can be painful to touch due to the tiny barbed hairs on their abdomen.
McCamish added the arachnids can even “flick” the hairs “off their back feet like darts”.
The scientist said how if you were to pick up the spiders, they could “bite you” – despite the species being “very docile”.
A tarantula bite is comparable to a bee sing.
As the tarantulas escape their hiding spots, it’s also warned they can jump as high as two feet and are capable of getting into trees.
McCamish said: “They’re ambush predators, after all.
“Just because they’re ground dwelling creatures that doesn’t mean they don’t climb bushes or trees.”
McCamish also noted how the spiders – despite some people being scared of them – aren’t a significant danger to humans.
But there is an exception for those who are severely allergic to spider bites.
McCamish said: “If it starts coming towards you, give it some space.
“It might be defending its eggs, or you might have interrupted a mating ritual between a male and female.”
There are 29 tarantula species in the US – and most of which only reach roughly 4.5 inches in diameter.
Males can live up to 10 years, whereas females can live for up to a whopping 25.
To see the creatures in summer, the best time is in the middle of the night.
Wizzie Brown, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomology specialist, said in a statement: “They can be grumpy when handled roughly, but if they bite, it’s typically from being provoked.
“So, look at them and appreciate them because they are beneficial.
“But people shouldn’t handle tarantulas in the wild.”
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