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Introversion

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'Ding dong, it's time': dancing tarantulas emerge in droves to mate in western US

The Guardian said:
Gaggles of tarantulas are emerging from their burrows across the western US on a quest to mate, hunting for love in prairies, foothills and a garage belonging to Kim Kardashian West.

From August to October, the eight-legged crawlers go on a walkabout for a once-in-a-lifetime foray to find a partner. The phenomenon is now occurring on a unusually large scale from northern California to Colorado and Texas, shining a light on the arachnids’ remarkable mating behavior, which can involve dancing and cannibalism.

For the first five to eight years of their lives, males live in a burrow, eating insects and maybe a mouse or snake. Tarantulas are wait-and-see predators; it’s quite a solitary life. “Then one day, they just pick up and leave in search of a willing female,” said Ana Cholo, a National Park Service public affairs officer who keeps a tarantula as a pet.

...

Daaaaaaaawwwww! It’s the universal story! Boy meets girl, girl agrees to lay eggs on sperm-covered silk blanket, girl eats boy.
 

Coddiwomple

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Ohhhh I grew up out west, and I remember having to drive really carefully this time of year to avoid running over tarantulas. I didn’t know they were courting death by automobile out of insatiable lust. Poor little spider horndogs.
 

Kjbartolotta

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I remember watching some Tarantula love business back when I was a kid camping in Anza Borrego. Not a swarm, just two horny crawlies trying to do their thing.

Kids today don't get that rustic experience anymore. What a shame.
 

Paul Lamb

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Each to its own kind, of course. I've heard of mass movements of tarantulas in southern Missouri (not too far from where I live), but I've never seen one in the wild. I understand the tarantella dance is named for this critter because it is supposed to be spider like.
 

MaeZe

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When I was in middle school walking home across a field (LA burbs) I came upon a tarantula. I never knew there were any tarantulas in the area. I scooped it up, took it home and set up an aquarium for it. Keep in mind, I didn't know what I was doing but I meant well.

I didn't know what to feed it and ended up putting a fairly large grasshopper in the container. Grasshoppers have nasty thorny things on the back of their hind legs.

So there was a battle, unintended and the tarantula was wounded. When I saw what was happening I tore the back legs off the grasshopper. The next day half of the grasshopper was gone, eaten.

Sadly the tarantula had been mortally wounded and it also died.

I was a weird kid. :D
 

petuh112

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Dancing, spiders and cannibalism remind me of that one Peacock Spider mating video the BBC put out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQbScg3r1oQ

Warning, features cute lil spiders and the possible chance of them being cannibalized