An unusual tarantula spider and the variety of its species. Tarantula - a large poisonous spider

Tarantulas are widespread. In our zone, they can be found in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Pripyat, Yenisei, in the Volga delta. They live in the desert zone of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, smaller representatives - in southern zone Europe. The eastern border of their habitat runs through Mongolia and China, then - Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt, North Africa. They are also found on the territory of Romania, Hungary, Austria.

A female tarantula with a juvenile on its back. When an adult female spider hibernates in her hole, then small tarantulas follow her and starve with her

Tarantulas are large spiders, reaching a length of 60 - 70 mm, but there are also smaller species. The body of the tarantula is dark in color. They do not weave trapping nets, but prefer to hunt on the ground, choosing a convenient ambush from which they track down prey. After waiting for the right moment, they overtake prey in several jumps, hence the name of the family - wolf spiders. Many of these spiders lead a nomadic lifestyle, and some, living in deserts and steppes, prefer to lead sedentary life. They select minks that are convenient for them and firmly settle in them. With all the outward ugliness, the Dzungarian tarantula, when viewed from the front, is quite unusual and even cute, reminiscent of a shaggy, bearded dwarf man. When he is calm and the front legs are lowered, a large streamlined head part body, resembling a fairy-tale dwarf overgrown with hair: at the bottom there is a transverse strip of short thick hairs, similar to a short mustache brush, under it, in two strands, longer, Thick hair, very similar to a beard, and above - eyes: two large ones and four smaller ones under them. Just a cartoon creation! But if it is disturbed, the picture changes as if by magic: the front legs rise high above the head, the spider assumes a menacing pose, in which it no longer looks like a cute creature.

As with karakurta, the poisonous apparatus of the tarantula consists of two glands located on the sides of the anterior cephalothorax, the ducts of which end at the sharp ends of the well-shaped, strong jaws. The eyesight of a tarantula is excellent. Eight eyes are located at the cephalothoracic end, four of them are shiny, very well distinguishable, and the other four are duller. The spider has eight legs, overgrown with black long hairs. Large, widely spaced in all directions, they give an already unpleasant animal a repulsive, disgusting look.

Some facts about the tarantula:

1. The tarantula raises its abdomen before releasing a web, with which it can "fly" to a new place.
2. The female wandering spider carries with her a cocoon containing hundreds of eggs.
3. The body and jointed legs of the tarantula are abundantly covered with long hairs.
4. The tarantula has strong limbs with which it digs holes for itself.
5. When the spider grows, the old shell becomes too small for him and he sheds it (sheds).

How to avoid a spider bite

To avoid a spider bite, you must first of all not touch it, since spiders attack only in defense. An accident can occur if the spider is stepped on with bare feet or accidentally disturbed. And if you try to grab him, then, as a rule, when he sees a hand extended to him, the spider hurries to hide. It must be remembered that the activity of the tarantula, like any other spider, increases in hot weather and therefore in tropical climates they are most active. In areas with temperate climate most tarantula bites occur between May and August.

With a bite of any kind, poison tarantula from the wound should be sucked, quickly spitting out the liquid. The victim needs rest - physical and moral. For convulsive muscle tension, use thermal treatments such as heating pads. It is necessary to drink hot liquids as much as possible and, if possible, to deliver the victim to the hospital as soon as possible. This general rule in all cases of injury.

Tarantula is a genus of araneomorphic spiders belonging to the wolf spider family. They live mainly in arid regions such as steppes and deserts. During the day they hide in burrows, and at night they go hunting. Spiders roam the ground in search of insects. Tarantulas, unlike many other species, do not weave nets, but use the web only to strengthen dwellings.

In the world there are more than two hundred varieties of tarantulas inhabiting places with temperate and tropical climate. Some of them also live in Russia.

Name etymology

This name comes from one of the varieties of spiders that live near the city of Taranto. According to the natives of the fifteenth century, spiders were the cause of the disease called "Tarantism". According to legend, the bite of this spider infected with an unusual disease that led to inevitable death, and the only possible way cured was a special, very energetic dance - tarantella (known to this day). It was customary to think that the dance should draw all the strength out of the "patient" along with the disease.

Appearance description

tarantulas have a double, hairy body and two pairs of four paws. It consists of two parts - the cephalothorax and the abdomen. The spider has eight eyes on its head that allow it to look around 360 degrees. Almost all subspecies are black or brown in color (there are bright exceptions).

American tarantulas are much larger than other species, they can reach ten centimeters, the span of paws is up to thirty centimeters. Tarantulas, who lived much smaller in Europe, rarely reach five centimeters. Males are smaller than females.

Many confuse the species of tarantulas with other large spiders, for example, tarantulas (most consider them to be tarantulas). This opinion is fundamentally wrong, since the tarantula belongs to mygalomorphic spiders. Over time, the error became entrenched in society and culture.

The appearance of these beauties can be assessed in the photo.

Lifestyle

Most of the time the spider spends in a hole dug on its own. Tarantula burrows can be up to 25 centimeters deep. Inside each hole, a wall of leaves and cobwebs is cultivated. For protection from rains or before the onset of winter, the spider goes even further and closes its "hut" with the help of cobwebs and earth.

The tarantula is a predator, and therefore is often in search of prey. Spiders hunt mainly at night, sometimes during the day, waiting for a victim near their home. Almost all careless insects fall under the insidious ticks of tarantulas, among them: caterpillars, bears, crickets, beetles and others.

Tarantulas prefer to stay as close to "home" as possible, they carefully defend their territory defending itself from strangers. In cases where the spider needs to move away from the hole, he ties himself to it with a web to make it easier to find his way home. The only option to force the creature to leave the home territory is the mating season, at this moment the spiders forget about everything, lose their heads. As a result, they are able to go a long way in search of a suitable female.

reproduction

If the male managed to find a worthy candidate, he decides to hit her. After a brief courtship, the spiders bond. Unfortunately, this relationship was not destined to end long and happy life. At the time of mating, the male should be as careful and tense as possible, because at the end of this process the female will try to bite her "boyfriend" and dine with them. The fate of the male depends on how fast his reaction is (many manage to escape). The female, being already fertilized, continues to live alone.

Tarantula

Eggs the spider lays in her hole. At an early stage, they are stored in a cocoon, which she drags along with her throughout the entire period of "gestation". Even after birth, baby tarantulas live on the mother's back until they become more independent (learn to hunt and crawl).

Known Species

Poisonous or not?

One of the most important questions related to tarantulas is whether they are poisonous or not, are they dangerous to humans? Despite the many legends, a lot of misinformed people and confusion with other types of spiders, the tarantula is believed to be dangerous. Yes, the spider is poisonous, and its poison can kill, but only animals. A tarantula cannot harm a person, and its bite will be akin to a bee or hornet sting. Moreover, the tarantula will not look for you and attack, despite the fact that it is a predator. You can provoke him to attack only by invading his territory or destroying his house (banal self-defense).

It is important to understand that don't deliberately ask for a spider attack which is unknown to you. At certain times of the year, for example, in spring, at this time the poison of spiders is gaining strength (it is more toxic) and some individuals with their bite can lead to backfire. An infected person may experience nausea, dizziness, and others like them (not fatal, but creepy and unpleasant).

According to the degree of danger, the poison varies depending on the season:

• Spring - at this time, the spiders wake up, have a rather weak poison;
• Summer - finally awake, the poison intensifies several times;
• Autumn - the power of the poison is again on the decline due to the approaching hibernation.

Tarantula as a pet

Tarantula is a wonderful pet. The spider does not ask for a lot of food, is quite unpretentious in terms of living conditions, is relatively safe (poisonous, but calm and docile) and interesting. They are also very beautiful, for example, the black Brazilian version. In general, these creatures are very popular, many people buy American spiders for themselves, and someone gets by with South Russian ones.

Choosing a spider preference should be given to the female because they can live much longer.

Why is a tarantula called a tarantula? May 23rd, 2015

Hardly anyone does not know the tarantula spider. Here we have it Widely known and dance - tarantella. And what do they have in common? This is despite the fact that one of the names of tarantula spiders - tarantula (tarantula) is a doubly misnomer.

Now we will find out why everything is so ...

There is a spider belonging to a very distantly related group that came into notoriety during the fifteenth century. This spider, named after the Italian city of Taranto "Taranto" (or Tarantum "Tarantum" for Renaissance people), is attributed to the cause of a strange disease called Tarantism "Tarantism" (Gertsch 1979). According to legend, the bite of this spider led to illness, and anyone bitten was doomed, and the only cure was: passion for madness - the ardent dance of the tarantella "tarantella". Now, a few centuries later, in quieter times, the authorities suspect that the tarantella was just an occasion for some private revelry, at a time when fun was ruthlessly suppressed. And as a result, the superstition about tarantism, any big spider was suspicious and instilled fear in the peasantry.

When Renaissance explorers explored the far corners of the world, they returned from scary stories O giant spiders- tarantulas "tarantulas", living in the tropics, subtropics, and warmer temperate zones. Gradually, English-speaking people, especially North Americans, applied this name to a group of spiders that are much larger and more showy than Europeans, forgetting almost completely about the city of Taranto and tarantism. This myth about big and dangerous spiders still continues to exist even today.

In a number of European languages, in particular in English, the word tarantula is often used to refer to tarantulas (the family of the largest spiders), and sometimes to all large spiders of any kind. In this regard, confusion often arises in the case of illiterate translation of texts. In modern biological systematics, the taxa "tarantulas" and "tarantulas" do not intersect; tarantulas are mygalomorphic spiders, and tarantulas are araneomorphic.

Apulian tarantula

Very often people mistakenly consider the tarantula to be a large spider. Basically, due to misconceptions, this is what they call tarantulas. This brings confusion.

These spiders live in the steppes or deserts, in arid regions. V daylight hours days, tarantulas sleep in their minks. Minks are vertical holes that go almost a meter into the ground. During the night, spiders come out of their hiding place and go out to hunt. The prey is mostly insects. These spiders are also unique in that they do not use their webs to make webs, they cover the walls of their shelter with webs, or to build an egg cocoon.

As a member of the spider tribe, the tarantula has characteristics their relatives. Namely: their legs are not equipped with a full set of muscles, only flexor muscles. They unbend under the pressure of the hemolymph. This is why wounded spiders become lethargic.

South Russian tarantula

They breed in late July and August. The female is looking for a mink that is more suitable in her opinion, where she lays eggs, which she later braids with cobwebs. After that, she wears them on the so-called spider warts until they hatch. And even after that, for a certain time she wears them on her belly.

Tarantula venom is deadly, but only for some animals. For a person, it is nothing more than a simple hornet sting. Edema appears, but it is not fatal. In the blood of this spider there is an antidote to its poison. It is for this reason that fights between tarantulas almost never end in death. But there are exceptions when the cause of death is blood loss.

V this moment The most famous of the genus of tarantulas are two species. Apulian tarantula and South Russian tarantula.

By the way, here's who they are and what they look like. And here's how you can The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy is made -

Tarantula is a generalized name for spiders that are large and covered with hair. More than 900 species belong to this family. The tarantula spider is a species of large poisonous araneomorphic insects, they belong to the large family of wolf spiders. All members of this family are poisonous to a greater or lesser extent. Before proceeding to the description of these amazing creatures, I would like to note that the simplicity in their content has led to the popularity of tarantulas as exotic pets.

Tarantula: description

The spider consists of two parts - the abdomen and the cephalothorax. There are four pairs of eyes on the head. Legs of it large insect shaggy and long. The hairs growing on them are quite sharp; upon contact with human skin, they can injure, resulting in burning and severe itching. The tarantula spider uses these hairs to protect itself from its natural enemies. A furry predator that falls into its paws kills with fangs, the length of which is 1 cm.

Fluffy insects are very beautiful. The color can be brown or black, but there are also brown-rusty individuals of this species. The weight of the spider is about 90 g, while the females are noticeably bigger size than males.

Lifestyle

The tarantula spider lives in deep burrows that it makes in solid soil. Such a spider dwelling reaches up to 25 cm vertically in depth. At the entrance, the predator builds a vertical wall, using the remains of plants and earth as building materials. The spider lines its burrow with cobwebs. When the rainy season or molting time begins, the entrance is closed from above with cobwebs and earth. With the onset of winter, the insect closes its home with dry plants mixed with cobwebs.

The tarantula hunts mainly at night, guarding prey at the entrance to the hole. During the day, he sits in his lair and waits for a random victim there. Based on this, it can be understood that a person can suffer and get a tarantula bite only in those cases when he himself invades his territory and destroys the dwelling of a predatory insect.

Tarantulas do not go far from their home, if they have to move away a little, then they always go, tied to the mink with their web. This is how the spiders find their way home. True, there are exceptions in the marriage period. At this time, males, forgetting about caution and rules, go in search of a female, spending a long time on the road.

reproduction

When, after a long search, the male tarantula finally finds a female, he begins to care for her. "Lady" reciprocates, but you need to be extremely careful with her. After the ritual of flirting, the spiders mate, it is at this moment, after the end of the mating act, that the female can bite her unlucky "cavalier", who will instantly turn from a groom into a dinner. Therefore, males must have a quick reaction and a quick reverse in order to have time to escape in time. Here it is - a spider wedding!

The spider lays eggs in her hole, where she wraps them in a web, as a result of which a cocoon is obtained. The future parent carries it everywhere with her until the time when small tarantulas appear. But even after the birth of the spiders, for some time they ride on the back of their mother. Only having matured and learned to crawl and live on their own, the children leave parental home and begin to arrange their own home and independent life.

Why is a tarantula dangerous?

As mentioned earlier, the bite of a tarantula, no matter what species it belongs to, is still poisonous. How dangerous a tarantula is depends on the age of the predator, race, gender, season, and some other factors.

Consider the toxicity of these insects, based on the time of year:

• April- only waking up after winter, tarantulas are very inert, their poison is not too toxic.
• May- in the middle of this month there comes a period when females lay eggs. Spiders become very active, and the toxicity of the poison increases by 2 times.
• June- at the beginning of the month, mating and migration occur, the poison of predators at this time is 3 times more toxic.
• August- in spiders, especially in young females, poison is less toxic.
• September- before wintering, the toxicity of the venom of furry insects decreases by 2 times.

Why is a tarantula spider dangerous for living beings? This creature is not in vain considered a predator, its bite has a neurogenic effect on nervous system. The venom of this spider can lead to neuromuscular disorders, respiratory and cardiovascular systems. So with this cute and fluffy creature of nature, you need to be extremely careful.

Black tarantula as a pet

In a conversation about representatives of the wolf spider family, it is impossible not to mention such a handsome man as the black Brazilian tarantula. This beautiful insect considered the most the best view spiders for home maintenance.

It, of course, also applies to predators, but at the same time it is distinguished by a calm and obedient character. Those who are already intimately familiar with the black shaggy fluffy can confidently recommend him as the most obedient spider. This amazing creature can live up to 20 years in proper conditions. So for a long time a beautiful pet will be next to its owner.

Among the representatives of the wolf spider family there are really interesting specimens, for example, tarantulas are large poisonous araneomorphic spiders that became famous back in the Middle Ages. The genus of tarantulas includes 220 species, of which the most famous are the South Russian tarantula, which lives in Russia and Ukraine, and the Apulian tarantula, originally from the Italian city of Taranto, which gave common name all members of the genus.

South Russian tarantula or Mizgir.

Apulian tarantula (female).

South Russian tarantula or Mizgir.

Tarantula Lycosa aragogi, endemic to Iran.

Contrary to popular belief, a tarantula sting does not pose a danger to humans, causes only slight swelling and resembles a wasp sting. But in the middle of the 15th century, they did not think so and attributed terrible misfortunes to large spiders living in the vicinity of Taranto. It was believed that a person bitten by a tarantula would inevitably go crazy and end his life in terrible agony, so people invented the same ridiculous antidote for a spider bite. According to the authoritative opinion of the healers of those times, only a crazy dance to exhaustion can save a person from death, and interestingly, this is how the world learned the tarantella - one of the most famous Italian folk dances.

What does a tarantula look like

In the photo, the tarantula strongly resembles a tarantula, but the latter belongs to mygalomorphic spiders and is especially large in size.

Tarantulas - Pretty big spiders, growing up to 10 cm in length with a body weight of about 90 g. The size of the legendary Apulian tarantulas usually does not exceed 7 cm, the southern Russian relatives are much smaller and grow up to 2.5 - 3.5 cm. Females of any species are larger than males.

The fluffy body of the tarantula is formed by two sections: the cephalothorax and the abdomen, connected by a thin hollow bridge - the stalk. Top part the body is covered with a dense chitinous shell, the stomach remains defenseless. There are 4 pairs of eyes on the head, allowing you to see the blurry outlines of prey at a distance of 20 - 30 cm.

The long paws of predators are densely dotted with sensitive hairs, which play an important tactile role in the search for prey and protect the spider from natural enemies. When in contact with human skin, the hairs can cause an allergic reaction.

South Russian tarantula or Mizgir: close-up view of the muzzle.

South Russian Tarantula or Mizgir: macro photography.

South Russian tarantula or Mizgir: macro photography.

Protective coloring allows tarantulas to successfully disguise themselves against the background of the surrounding landscape. Apulian tarantulas painted in dark colors with a light edging, the abdomen of females is red, decorated with one longitudinal and several transverse black and white stripes. You can recognize the South Russian tarantula in the photo by the black belly and brown-red top.

Range and lifestyle

Tarantulas are typical inhabitants of deserts, semi-deserts and arid steppe regions of Eurasia, Central and South America, North Africa, Australia.

These nocturnal predators during the day prefer to sit out in minks up to 60 cm deep, disguised by fallen leaves. Tarantulas do not build trapping nets, but use cobwebs to frame the walls of the mink, and females weave a cocoon from threads to bear offspring.

Burrow of a tarantula, the steppe of the Kherson region.

With the onset of darkness, tarantulas go hunting, lying in wait for the victim right in their shelter or wandering around the neighborhood. The tarantula's hunting method is characteristic of most wolf spiders: a predator pounces on prey, paralyzing or killing it with its poison, and then sucks out the contents.

Tarantula hunting without leaving its hole. Uzbekistan - 05.04.2008.

The basis of the diet of tarantulas is mainly insects and their larvae: flies, cockroaches, crickets, beetles, as well as smaller representatives of their own squad. Enlarged photos of tarantulas eating their prey are impressive.

A meadow moth in the arms of a South Russian tarantula.

reproduction

The mating season of these spiders falls at the end of summer - the beginning of autumn. The male, having noticed the female, begins a kind of dance, invitingly shaking and tapping with especially developed forelimbs. The female responds with something similar and folds her front legs, which becomes a signal for mating for the male. At the end of the process, the male hurries to retreat, and the fertilized female hibernates in a tightly sealed mink.