Beware of Tarantulas in These 13 States

Tarantula Appearance

Tarantulas are large, hairy spiders that come in a wide variety of colors, from browns and grays to electric blues, pink, orange, yellow, and even green. The largest tarantula, the Goliath birdeater, can grow to lengths of 5 inches or more, with leg spans up to 12 inches. This behemoth weighs in at about six ounces, as much as a burrowing owl! Most tarantulas are significantly smaller than that, but they are still quite large, compared to other spiders.

Females of each species are larger than males. Females are generally more colorful than males of the same species as well. This could be in part because tarantulas change in appearance as they molt. Adults usually have more vivid colors and patterns than juveniles, and females, due to their much longer lifespans, will molt more times than males.

Tarantulas have eight hairy, jointed legs and two body parts, the cephalothorax and the abdomen. The cephalothorax is sometimes also called the prosoma, and the abdomen is also known as the opisthosoma. Their eight legs extend from the cephalothorax, as do the pedipalps. Pedipalps look like a shorter pair of legs, extending from the front, near the head. These are used for sensing and for moving things around.

Tarantulas have large fangs, or chelicerae, and a small tube-shaped mouth. They have eight eyes, but only the larger two are easy to spot. These are right up front, on the center of their head. Four more eyes, much smaller, are in a row underneath the two main eyes. And two more eyes lie hidden, one on each side of the head.  

What Tarantulas Eat

Tarantulas eat a wide variety of prey. Essentially, as long as a potential meal is small enough to capture and devour, a tarantula will eat almost anything that crosses its path. Invertebrates, including insects, larvae, other spiders, and all sorts of arthropods make up the bulk of a tarantula’s diet. They also eat small mammals, including mice or voles, and small birds. Many species eat reptiles, including lizards and snakes, as well as amphibians and even small fish.

Unlike many other spiders, tarantulas do not weave webs to catch their prey. They may spin lines of silk that act as tripwires, leading out from their burrows, to alert them to the presence of potential prey or nearby threats. But when it comes to catching a meal, they rely on the tactics of ambush and pursuit. 

Once a tarantula catches an unfortunate victim, it uses its large fangs to disable, kill, and ultimately liquify the prey from the inside out. This is necessary, because it does not have large enough mouth parts to actually bite off chunks of its prey or swallow them whole. Instead, it injects its prey with venom and enzymes that will break down tissues into a soupy liquid. Then it sucks out the liquid with its straw-like mouth and discards the leftovers in a compact ball of waste.

Florida

Even though they are not actually a native species of the state, Mexican redrump tarantulas are now in parts of Florida. They were first discovered in a citrus grove in 1996. These spiders have been imported into Miami as pets since the 1970s and probably escaped.

Texas

Texas is home to six species of tarantula. These are the Texas Brown Tarantula, Texas Tan Tarantula, Texas Black Spot Tarantula, Chiricahua Gray Tarantula, Rio Grande Gold Tarantula, and the rather mysterious Aphonopelma moellendorfi about which little is known.

Louisiana

Strangely, the Texas brown tarantula (Aphonopelma hentzi) is in Louisiana! It is a rich brown color with a lighter brown cephalothorax. Their range extends from central to north-central Louisiana and westward to Texas, where they burrow under rocks and logs.

Arkansas

Tarantulas are the largest spiders in Arkansas but arrived only 8,000 years ago.  They range from the Ozark Mountains southward across the Arkansas River Valley and the Ouachita Mountains.

Missouri

There is only one native species of tarantula in Missouri and that is the Texas brown tarantula. It also happens to be Missouri’s largest spider.

Kansas

Tarantulas are the largest native spiders in Kansas. They live in southern and western parts of the state but have possibly are around Eudora and in Lecompton as well.

Oklahoma

The Oklahoma brown tarantula is exactly the same species as the Texas brown tarantula. They shelter near small rocks and logs that they can burrow underneath but can occasionally be spotted on roadways.

Arizona

The western desert tarantula (Aphonopelma chalcodes) is so common in Arizona that you may see it called the Arizona blonde. However, there are plenty of other species in the state where they are a common sight.

New Mexico

Desert tarantulas, or desert blonde tarantulas, are a common sight in Northern New Mexico. They are often on Santa Fe Desert County Road 42, and you can even join a tarantula-spotting tour in Cerrillos Hills State Park.

Colorado

There are four types of tarantula in Colorado. Males take part in a migration or ‘walkabout’ every fall as they hunt for females. This has become a tourist attraction in La Junta.

Utah

The genus of tarantula found in Utah (Aphonopelma) is not harmful to humans. At times, they are as far north as Cache County, but that is about the northern limit of their range.

Nevada

The desert tarantula and its cousin, the western desert tarantula, can be found in Nevada. During their annual migration, tarantulas often outnumber the 100 residents of Gabbs, Nevada!

California

The California tarantula is Aphonopelma californicum. However, there are other species in the state, including the California Black (or “Ebony”) Tarantula (Aphonopelma eutylenum).