Name: Aragog Nickname: Señor araña Species: Spider/western desert tarantula Home: Found at the side of a road in Arizona. Probably has a nice hole in the ground to call home somewhere not too far from there. Near Tombstone. Hobbies: crossing that Mexican border like a ninja Personality: the few minutes I got to hang out with this guy, I found he was an gentle spider with some nerves. But also just a cool dude. Gender: likely male
Western Desert Tarantula Facts: There are about 850 species of tarantulas worldwide. Their range includes Africa and Madagascar, parts of the Middle East, southern Europe, southbern Asia, the Indo-Pacific region, Australia, northern New Zealand, some of the Micronesian Islands, all of Central and South America, parts of the Caribbean, and the United States north to central California and east to the Mississippi River. More than four dozen species populate the U. S. range. The name tarantula was originally given to a spider living in Southern Italy from the town of Taranto where legend claims that a small species of spider living there had a fatal bite. The only cure was for the victim to dance until exhausted, by which time the poison would have been sweated from the system (the frenzied folk dance based on the Italian legend is called the tarantella). Rubbish excuse to dance if you ask me. Some tarantula species are endangered because of habitat destruction and over-collection for the pet trade. Make sure you know what’s going on before purchasing a pet tarantula since many are illegally taken from the wild and breed in unhealthy masses. Luckily, Aragog’s species is common and is not currently threatened. Tarantulas are very sensitive to vibrations in the ground that may indicate the presence of prey or danger. They are equipped with urticating hairs on their abdomen which can be released by kicking with the back legs; these hairs irritate the nose and eyes of would-be attackers. Make sure to keep an appropriate distance between you and any creature you come across, but especially when it comes to to a wild tarantula like Aragog. There are only a few species of tarantula which have a powerful bite. The venom of most is not highly toxic to humans. Tarantulas are actually placid and harmless and will only attack if goaded and, in many cases, the bite is no more harmful to humans than a bee sting. In the Arizona desert, there are many predators for these spiders. One of which is the tarantula hawk, a large spider wasp that searches out tarantulas and attempts to sting them. If successful, the sting paralyzes the spider. The wasp will then lay an egg on it, and seals it up in a burrow. The paralyzed spider provides tasty tarantula meat for the wasp grub to eat after it hatches from the egg. Other predators of Aragog include lizards, snakes, spider-eating birds, coyotes and foxes. So it is only proper for Aragog to look all big and tough. Desert tarantulas live in deep burrows lined with nice silk webbing to prevent caving in. The hole is enlarged as the spider grows. If suitable soil is not available an occasional individual may hide in cracks or logs. Tarantulas are nocturnal hunters. They feed primarily on insects like grasshoppers, beetles, other small spiders and arthropods, and will sometimes eat small lizards. They will attempt to overcome anything of the right size that moves in their range. Most tarantulas have weak venom. The silken "welcoming mat" around their hole, vibrates like guitar strings and sends signals to the spider cloistered there, if potential prey should touch the strands. Aragog bites his prey with long, curved fangs, injecting it with a poison which slowly renders the victim helpless. He will then crush his food between his powerful jaws, at the same time injecting a fluid which breaks down the victim’s tissues. This turns the prey into a soft pulp, which can then be eaten. Many spiders, including our beloved Aragog, have no teeth (fangs and a jaw don’t count as teeth) with which to chew their food, so they rely on their venom to liquefy their prey. They then use their sucking stomachs to draw in or 'suck" up the meal. A tarantula's fangs move up and down; all other spiders' fangs move horizontally. During mating season, which varies from summer through fall, the males leave their burrows to seek willing females. A male, encountering the silk surrounding the entrance to a female's burrow, calls and dances amorously. He may be rejected or embraced. In either event, he may get eaten up, becoming a readily available source of protein to fuel development of the next generation. Sadly to say, Aragog probably was wondering out to find a Mosag (ten house points to whoever gets the reference) when we met him, rip. After mating, the female carries her eggs in a silken cocoon attached to her body. The growth of a newly hatched spider into a mature spider is a long process and can take up to ten years. Females can live up to 25 years, but the males live only to be around 12 years old. A female tarantula has a more stocky body than a male and is covered in a light brown or tan hair. The male is thinner and lankier, with black hair covering most of the body and reddish hairs on its abdomen. They will periodically shed their external skeletons in a process called molting. In the process, they also replace internal organs, and even regrow lost appendages. Thanks for listening!
