What does a tarantula spider eat. Tarantulas. The most famous types

The etymological story to which the tarantula spider owes its name is interesting. All sources give an example from the Italian Renaissance.

In those days, in the city of Tarento, one of the species of our spider was very afraid, it was believed that its bite of a tarantula was almost fatal. To alleviate the fate of the bitten, it was prescribed to move a lot and randomly, supposedly in this case the poison is neutralized. Subsequently, these chaotic movements began to be performed to the music, and so one of the most popular dances, the tarantella, was born, and the spider itself was called the tarantula.

Like it or not, it is not possible to check now, and the spider turned out to be not so deadly - there is no more harm from it than from a bee or hornet, although the tarantula spider looks scary in the photo.

Terrible beauty tarantula

biological reference

Now let's move on to the description of the tarantula, the features of its behavior, nutrition and reproduction, let's give it brief description as a representative of the animal world.

Scientific classification and lifestyle

The genus of tarantulas belongs to. They live mainly in burrows, in which they spend all daylight hours, and go hunting at night. These arthropods also weave a web, but they do not use it as trapping net, but as a wall decoration in their underground apartments and for arranging an egg-laying cocoon.

By the way! The depth of the tarantula mink can reach 60 centimeters, and some species before the onset of cold weather are even able to go deep to a meter depth!

Tarantulas are often confused with, which was greatly facilitated by the fact that in some languages ​​the word "tarantula" refers to representatives of this family, and even if we discard differences in size, these arthropods are similar to each other.

Remember! Tarantula is from the family of wolf spiders, tarantulas are from the family of tarantulas!

The main difference between the two families is in the structure and function of chilicerae. In wolves, they move towards each other, in tarantulas, in parallel.

Description

What does a tarantula look like? These are rather large spiders, reaching 30 centimeters in span. Males are always slightly smaller than females. The bodies of spiders are covered with hairs of gray, brown or Brown depending on the type.

The largest sizes are tarantulas representing South America, their European relatives rarely exceed a body length of five centimeters.

An interesting question is about the organs of vision of representatives of this family. Curious animal lovers are often interested in how many eyes a tarantula has. We answer - he already has eight of them, which allows you to view the entire panorama around both horizontally and vertically.

Nutrition

It is also important to know what tarantulas eat. This is especially true for those arthropod lovers who are going to breed them in their own apartment. And what, as the character of "The Twelve Chairs" said: "To whom and the mare is the bride!".

So here it is night Hunter eats everything that is shorter. It can be an insect, an arachnid of another species, and even small mammals and birds. Digestion in tarantulas, like many other spiders, is external. First, the predator introduces poison and digestive juices into the body of the victim, which decompose the tissues of the victim, and only then sucks in the digested substrate.

Spreading

The question of where tarantulas are found is the most popular among arachnophobes, people who are afraid of spiders. In this regard, residents of central Russia and regions with similar or more severe climatic conditions can be calm. Here, the tarantula can only be found in various zoos and apartments of enthusiasts, fans of Spider-Man.

But on the territory of the south of our country, our neighboring states, the south of Europe, the African, Asian and American continents, tarantulas are found in large numbers.

Reference! Currently, scientists have identified more than 200 species of tarantula spider.

reproduction

Tarantula spiders breed like representatives of other spider families, but still have their own characteristics. First of all, it's famous mating dance, by which the spider recognizes the male of exactly her own species. In general, the mating process can be roughly divided into the following stages:

1. At the end of summer, the male decides that it is time to extend his tarantula family and goes in search of a female.
2. Having found the intended bride, he begins to perform a ritual dance.
3. She, in turn, looks at the gentleman, and if she decides that he is the man of her dreams and belongs to the same species, she begins to answer him, copying the dance steps.
4. After such identification, the mating itself takes place, after which the groom hurries to quickly retreat, until the missus decides to eat him. It must be said that in this respect male tarantulas are more agile than the representatives of the male population of other spiders.

In a warm solar heat the body of the female begins to form eggs, up to 700 pieces, depending on the species. At the end of this process, the female spins a cocoon from the web right on her stomach, where she places the formed eggs.

So she wears her offspring on herself until the juveniles begin to hatch. Feeling this moment, the young mother gnaws through the cocoon and releases the children into the wild.

However, the babies do not leave their mother, but move to her back, where she wears them until they learn to eat on their own.

bites

Here we will reveal the secret of whether the tarantula is dangerous for humans. There is no doubt that the spider bites painfully, in any case, those bitten noted that it is like being stung by a bee.

One of effective ways what to do if bitten by a tarantula is to use the antidote contained directly in the body of the spider. It is enough to crush the animal and lubricate the bite with juices, then the pain will decrease, and the wound will heal faster.

To the question of whether the tarantula is poisonous or not, we will also answer in the affirmative, otherwise how would he kill his victims. However, for a person, its poison is not dangerous, unless there is an individual intolerance or allergy to bites.

Spider species

As we mentioned above, there are over two hundred species of tarantulas, even a simple listing of them Latin names will take up a lot of space, so our review will only mention those that are most popular among lovers of these animals.

South Russian

It is also called mizgir, as the name implies, it is found in the south of our country. Depending on the external conditions the coloration of this individuals of this species varies from gray to brown. The size of the females reaches three centimeters, the males are a centimeter and a half smaller.

With climate warming, the habitat of the South Russian tarantulas is gradually expanding, and soon we will meet them in middle lane, then the prefix "southern" can be discarded.

Apulian

Apulian tarantula, it is also called real, is twice as large as the domestic species. Apulian females reach a size of seven centimeters.

This type of spider is widely distributed throughout the Mediterranean countries, both in southern Europe and in northern Africa. The burrows of this spider are located in rocky shores and rocky beaches.

Brazilian

The Brazilian tarantula has a beautiful coloration. Its small body is three centimeters long, the body is painted in various shades of brown, and there is an oblong light strip on the head and back.

The distribution area of ​​​​the handsome man is the countries of South America: Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina.

Spanish

The Spanish tarantula was previously considered one of the subspecies of the Apulian spider, which shares the same habitat with it. More recently, the Spanish spider began to be considered independent view It only happened in 2013.

Polyastomy

This species is adjacent to brazilian spider, but different from the last in gray hairs covering the body, but in size it is similar to its neighbor and has a three-centimeter body, excluding the length of the legs.

Leokarti

This tarantula is from the Australian continent. a small gray-brown spider, the body length of the female of which is only 1.2 centimeters, and the males are nine millimeters long.

blackbellied

This kind of tarantula lives on the islands Pacific Ocean, in Japan and Taiwan. The brown body of females barely reaches two centimeters in length, the male is shorter by half a centimeter. The belly of the spider is black, which led to its name, there are two dark stripes on the back.

At the end of our story about unusual spiders we suggest you watch a fascinating video about the tarantula spider hunting for a mouse.

tarantulas- exotic animals. Require minimal maintenance. Tarantula - big spider covered with hairs. There are 900 of them on Earth. different types. Habitat: tropical and temperate latitudes: Central and South America, Asia, southern Europe, Australia. IN Russian Federation lives in the southern steppes.

Description and features of the tarantula

Type - arthropods, class - arachnids. The hairy body consists of two parts: 1-head-chest, 2-belly, which are connected with a tube - a stalk. The head and chest are covered with chitin; the abdomen, on the contrary, is soft and tender. 8 eyes located at the top, reminiscent of a periscope, help to see the area from all sides at once.

The paws of the tarantula are equipped with claws for extra grip when lifting, like a cat. IN wild nature tarantulas usually move on the ground, but sometimes they have to climb a tree or other object.

In the event of a threat to life, the tarantula rips off the hairs from its abdomen with its hind legs and throws them at the enemy (if this happens, irritation and itching are felt - an allergic reaction).

Of course, the tarantula itself suffers from such actions, as a bald patch will remain on the abdomen. In moments of danger, they make sounds reminiscent of the vibration of the teeth of a comb. They have excellent hearing. Recognize the sounds of human steps at a distance of up to 15 km.

Tarantulas are brown or black in color with red spots and stripes. In nature, there are small, medium, large tarantulas. American spiders reach sizes up to 10 cm. Ours are much smaller than overseas relatives: females -4.5 cm, males -2.5 cm.

The bite of a tarantula is not fatal to humans, but it is very painful.

Minks dig to a depth of up to half a meter near water bodies. Pebbles are removed. The inside of the dwelling closer to the entrance is woven with cobwebs, the threads are stretched inward, their vibration tells the tarantula about the events taking place above. In the cold period, the hole is deepened and the entrance is closed with foliage intertwined with cobwebs.

Reproduction and lifespan of a tarantula

In the warm season, adults are busy looking for a pair. In males, the instinct of self-preservation is dulled, so they can be seen even during the day. When he finds a female, he taps his legs on the ground, vibrates his abdomen and quickly moves his limbs, announces his presence.

If she accepts courtship, repeats the movements after him. What happens next is lightning fast. After the transfer of sperm, the male runs away so as not to be eaten by the female, since during this period she needs protein. Then the female falls asleep until spring in her mink.

In spring, she will come to the surface to expose her abdomen to the sun's rays, then lay her eggs (300-400 pcs.) In a woven web. Then he puts it in a cocoon and wears it on himself.

As soon as the babies show signs of life, the mother will gnaw through the cocoon and help the spiderlings out. Babies will nest on their mother's body in layers until they become independent. Then the mother will resettle the young, gradually throwing them off.

Tarantula food

They actively hunt at night. Large spiders catch , ; small - insects. And they do it very carefully. Slowly creeps up to the victim, then quickly jumps and bites. It pursues large prey for a long time.

Pictured is a rare blue tarantula

In fact, they are docile and rarely bite. For such large predator as a person, poison will not be enough. The spider, most likely, will act reasonably, and will not attack the big one, dangerous object.

Tarantulas are fragile creatures. They have very thin skin. Falling is deadly for him. Therefore, it is not necessary to take the spider in hand. They produce silk for their web. Females need silk in the “interior” of the burrow to strengthen the walls, males need it as a packaging material for storing eggs, and traps are also made from silk near the mink.

Tarantulas grow throughout their lives, changing their exoskeleton several times. Using this fact, they can regenerate lost limbs. If he has lost a leg, he will get it in the next molt, as if by magic.

She may not come out at all. right size. Age matters here, the time of the previous molt. But that's not a problem. The leg will grow with each molt, gradually acquiring the desired length.

Types of tarantulas

Brazilian jet black - popular house spider . Impressive, jet black, casts blue, which depends on the lighting, its dimensions are 6-7 cm. It is calm, elegant - and one might say, obedient.

On the picture jet black spider tarantula

Native to Southern Brazil. The climate is humid, with frequent rains. In warm weather (May-September), the temperature rises to 25 degrees, in cold weather it drops to 0 degrees. Due to slow growth, they mature only by 7 years of age, live a long time, about 20 years. cold period spends in a hole, so the bottom of the terrarium is covered with a fairly thick layer of substrate (3-5 inches).

Suitable soil, peat, vermiculite. In nature tarantula dwells in the forest floor near stones, hides in tree roots, hollow logs, abandoned rodent burrows, so shelters and recesses are needed in the substrate.

Small crickets are suitable for young individuals, large crickets, other insects are suitable for adults, small lizards, naked mice. For him in the terrarium (volume of 10 gallons, not necessarily high), you should put a shallow container of water (a saucer will do). They may go hungry for several months.

Well known in Russia South Russian tarantula. Its color is different: brown, brown, red. Habitat - steppe and forest-steppe zone of the south, in last years and central Russia.

Pictured is a South Russian tarantula

Apuleian is a poisonous spider. Larger than ours. Distribution area - Europe.
-White-haired - the baby is cheaper, but because of the good appetite, it grows faster than other brothers.
-Chilean pink - pet stores most often offer it. The most beautiful and expensive type of Mexican scorched - prohibited for export from natural places a habitat.
Golden - a friendly creature, so named because of the bright colors of huge paws, the size of which grows more than 20 cm. The new kind and is expensive.

Pictured is a Chilean pink spider tarantula

Costa Rican striped - difficult to care for, does not bite, but with a bad habit of disappearing.
- Afonopelma is copper, now you can already buy it, but not in the store, but by order.

Online stores provide an opportunity to see tarantulas in the photo and check prices.

The tarantula is a large poisonous spider, belongs to the arthropod type, the arachnid class, the wolf spider family, the tarantula genus (lat. Lycosa).

Where did the word "tarantula" come from?

There is no exact information about the etymology of the name of this genus of spiders. However, most researchers believe that its origin goes back to the Renaissance. At that time, many convulsive seizures that occur in humans were associated with spider bites, which lived in large numbers in the vicinity of Italian cities, including the city of Taranto in southern Italy, where it was noted the largest number bitten. It is thanks to this city that the spiders got their name. It is noteworthy that in order to cure the disease, medieval physicians prescribed to dance to exhaustion a special dance - the tarantella.

These predators wait for their prey, hiding in a mink, or choose another shelter for this. Having attacked the victim, tarantulas paralyze it with their poison, which dissolves all the insides of the prey, turning them into a nutrient fluid. After waiting for time, the spiders simply suck out the resulting "energy cocktail".

It is noted that the size of the prey of tarantulas does not exceed the size of the hunter himself, and the process of its absorption can last several days. Despite their gluttony, poisonous spiders are capable of for a long time do without food, the main thing is to have access to water. A case has been recorded when a female Apulian tarantula was able to live without food for more than 2 years.

Types of tarantulas - photo, description and names.

The genus of tarantulas includes more than 200 varieties of spiders. Among them, the most famous are the following types:

• Apulian tarantula (real tarantula) (lat. Lycosa tarantula) has a size of 7 cm. The females of this species are characterized by a combined coloration, consisting of a dark cephalothorax, outlined by a light thin strip, and a red abdomen, decorated with several transverse stripes framed by a red-white border. The male tarantula has a more modest plain appearance. Apulian tarantulas live mainly on mountain slopes in vertical burrows up to 0.6 m deep, which can be found by a characteristic roll of dried leaves framing the entrance. Unlike many fellow spiders, true tarantulas do not spin webs. During the day, they prefer to sit out in a hole, and at twilight and night hours they leave their shelter to hunt insects. In anticipation of the winter cold, poisonous spiders seal the entrance to their home, using dry grass intertwined with cobwebs for this, and hibernate. The life expectancy of a tarantula in natural conditions after the onset of puberty does not exceed 2-3 years for males and 4-5 years for females. Apulian tarantulas live in countries such as Italy and Algeria, Spain and Libya, Portugal and Morocco, Egypt and Sudan.

• South Russian tarantula or mizgir (lat. Lycosa singoriensis) is an inhabitant of fields, gardens and orchards, slopes of ravines and river banks. The habitat of the tarantula is the steppe, semi-desert and desert zones of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and countries Central Asia. The size of the mizgir tarantula rarely exceeds 35 mm in females and 25 mm in males. The color of the spider depends on the color of the soil in the habitat, so there are light brown, black-brown or reddish specimens with spots. various shapes and size. characteristic feature This type of spider is the presence of a dark "cap" on the head. The depth of the holes in which they live poisonous tarantulas, often reaches 0.5 m. The entrance to the hole is protected by a low wall, consisting of excavated soil and reinforced with grass and plant remains. During rain or the molting process, the entrance to the shelter is sealed with earth and cobwebs. Like all representatives of the wolf spider family, mizgiri do not weave webs to catch prey, but hunt insects while sitting in a mink or not far from it. In anticipation of the onset of cold weather, South Russian tarantulas descend to the very bottom of the hole, having previously sealed the entrance to it with a thick earthen plug. South Russian tarantulas live no more than 3-5 years. The life span of females is longer than that of males.

• TarantulaLycosa narbonensis reaches a size of 5-6 cm. The body of the poisonous spider is brown-black, the legs are long, covered with hairs. Tarantulas are found in Italy, France, Macedonia, Malta, Spain, countries former Yugoslavia and in northern Africa.

• Spanish tarantula (lat. Lycosa hispanica, Tarantulaiberica) lives in the south of Europe and in the countries of northern Africa. Tarantulas eat small invertebrates and also practice cannibalism. The spider was previously considered a subspecies of the Apulian tarantula, but has been treated as a separate species since 2013.

• Brazilian tarantula (lat. Lycosa erythrognatha, formerlyLycosa raptoria) lives in the countries of South America: Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, in the northern, northeastern and central parts of Argentina. Like other representatives of the genus, the Brazilian tarantula has 8 eyes arranged in 3 rows. In the bottom row there are 4 small eyes, a little higher are 2 big eyes, and 2 more are on the sides of the head. The size of a tarantula is approximately 3 cm, excluding legs. The color of the spider is dark brown. A light longitudinal stripe is located on the head, which acquires a yellowish tint in the upper part of the back. In the center of the upper abdomen, the strip takes the form of an arrow that points forward. The lower part of the abdomen of a poisonous spider is black. Chelicerae are reddish-brown. Tarantulas feed on crickets, cockroaches and other spiders.

• TarantulaLycosa poliostoma lives in the countries of South America: Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay. Lives in gardens, steppes, meadows, during the day it hides among the grass or in trees, in stones or burrows, leads night image life. Like other species, these tarantulas eat crickets, cockroaches, small insects, and other spiders. The length of the spider, excluding legs, is 3 cm. The color of the tarantula is gray-brown or dark brown. On the head is a light longitudinal stripe. In the upper part of the abdomen, the strip takes the form of an arrow that points forward. The underside of the tarantula's abdomen is black. The color of the chelicera is light, which distinguishes this type of spider from the Brazilian tarantula. Females are larger than males, but females have shorter legs.

• TarantulaLycosa Leuckarti- a gray-brown spider. The length of males reaches 0.9 cm, females - 1.2 cm (excluding legs). This species of tarantula lives in Australia.

• TarantulaLycosa coelestis lives in Japan and Taiwan. The length of females reaches 13-18 mm. The size of the male tarantula is 11-13 mm. The body color is brown, on the back there are 2 longitudinal dark stripes. Inner side The abdomen of the tarantula is black, for which the spider received the name "black-bellied tarantula".

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 are rather large 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, 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. The upper part of 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 coloration allows tarantulas to successfully camouflage against the background of the surrounding landscape. Apulian tarantulas are painted in dark colors with light edging, the abdomen of females is red, decorated with one longitudinal and several transverse black and white stripes. recognize South Russian tarantula in the photo you can see 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 lies in hibernation in a tightly sealed mink.

Tarantulas are called enough big spiders covered with hairs and belonging to the family of wolf spiders. There are about 900 varieties of these spiders in the world.

The tarantula lives in places with tropical and temperate climate. It can be found in Central and South America, Asia, southern Europe, Australia. On the territory of Russia, the tarantula is distributed in the southern steppe part of the country.

Description of the spider

Appearance

Tarantula belongs to the type of arthropods, to the class of arachnids. Its furry body consists of two parts - the cephalothorax and abdomen. On top of the spider's cephalothorax are 8 eyes, which give it the opportunity to view the surroundings 360 degrees.

The color of tarantulas is mostly brown or black with reddish spots and stripes.

By size, all types of tarantulas are divided into small, medium and large. Spiders up to 10 cm in size live in America, their paw span is up to 30 cm. The European relatives of the tarantula are much smaller than their American counterparts. Females reach a size of 4.5 cm (with a paw span of up to 8 cm), males are somewhat smaller and rarely larger than 2.5 cm.

spider dwelling

Tarantulas live in burrows they dig for themselves. Spiders choose a place for a hole very carefully. One of mandatory conditions there must be a body of water nearby. The depth of the burrow is on average 50–60 cm.