The truth about tarantulas: not too big, not to scary

When I say tarantulas, what immediately comes to your mind? Probably images of great big hairy spiders that can kill a human with a single venomous bite.

The reality couldn’t be further away from the tarantula’s reputation: what we think of as tarantulas aren’t actually tarantulas. Most of the spiders we think of as tarantulas are small. And they are rarely lethal.

There are many animals that are not as docile as the tarantula. Read more about them here!

The original tarantula is a relatively small, innocuous wolf spider. It lives in southern Europe. Including around the city of Taranto in southern Italy, from which it gets its name.

Despite being not at all dangerous, the wolf spider, or Lycosa tarantula, somehow gathered a fearsome reputation over the centuries. So when European explorers began to encounter bigger, hairier and more fearsome spiders on their travels around the world, they just called those arachnids, tarantulas too.

In fact, the spiders we call tarantulas belong to the Theraphosid family, and the eight-legged creature we most commonly think of as the tarantula is probably the Mexican red-kneed tarantula. But there are around 650 different species of Theraphosid.

Most of these are pretty small, with a leg span of little more than 2cm. There is however the famous monster: the Goliath birdeater from northern South America. With a leg span of 28 cm, it is the size of a dinner plate, and it’s the largest spider in the world.

To read about a megacluster of tarantulas in Australia, click here.

Contrary to popular belief, tarantulas are not naturally very aggressive. They can sense the heat from our bodies and will avoid us. Their first defense is always to hide and run away. If really cornered, they may bite, but their venom is rarely lethal.

Said a researcher,

“The venom is used to subdue their prey. None of them is normally lethal. The bite is normally no worse than a bee sting.”

Tarantulas have been a relatively popular pet now for several years, as they are unique, quiet and need little space. Would you consider having a tarantula as a pet? What do you think your friends and family would say?

(All images - credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)