Be On the Lookout Because Tarantulas’ Summer of Love Is About To Start

Everybody needs some love sometimes, and that’s exactly what thousands of tarantulas around San Diego, California, are thinking right now. From August through September, these feisty hair-kicking arachnids will be ambling around in much the same way that someone is desperately swiping on a dating app. The tarantulas in question are the San Diego Bronze Tarantula and the California Black Tarantula. Let’s look a bit into what makes each of these CA arachnids tick and how they get ready for date night.

California Ebony Tarantula (Aphonopelma eutylenum) and San Diego Bronze Tarantula (Aphonopelma reversum)

The California Ebony Tarantula and the San Diego Bronze Tarantula spend much of their time in their burrows and away from human viewing, only catching prey that is unlucky enough to stumble over their silk-lined doorway. Then, one late summer day, the males decide the time is upon them to find love. They say goodbye to their burrows and take off on foot, searching for the girl of their dreams (who will likely kill and maybe eat them after their rendezvous).

The ebony tarantulas break the cycle of being nocturnal to walk around rather aimlessly during the hot, sunny days in the desert and grasslands that make up San Diego. The bronze tarantulas tend to prefer a rockier area for hiding than their ebony cousins. Also, the bronze tarantula heads out a bit earlier than the ebony tarantula, which tends to capitalize on Halloween by making their daytime appearance then.

Once the ebony or bronze tarantula stumbles upon what they think might be a female’s burrow entrance, they will taste the silk webbing that lines her burrow to make sure this is a female’s door they are about to knock on. Both can have fatal consequences, but one ends in their lineage carried on to a batch of new tiny tarantulas.

Dating Isn’t Just for Humans

These large spiders are not the scary monsters that the media would have them be, instead are pretty docile and just want to make it to their lover’s door without getting squished or eaten by something. They have a body length of approximately two inches long with a leg span of around four inches wide. In other words, the sight of thousands of tarantulas may disturb you, they are harmless. Even if you you are bitten, which would require you to make some foolish choices, their bite is medically insignificant.

Their fangs are on the larger side, which may leave a bit of soreness similar to a bee sting. Generally, if you make one extra mad, it will rear back on its hind legs with its front legs in the air. This is a defense posture that you should heed. If you do not make haste, the spider may then kick hairs with tiny hooks from its abdomen toward you. If these urticating hairs happen to find their way into your skin, it could cause a rash. Just look the other way and try to respect their love language.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © ZooKeys / CC BY-SA 4.0 – License / Original