Noddaz
PowerDork
10/4/24 4:56 p.m.
Per the AP:
Spider lovers scurry to Colorado town in search of mating tarantulas and community
By THOMAS PEIPERT and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
Updated 7:34 AM EDT, October 3, 2024
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LA JUNTA, Colo. (AP) — Love is in the air on the Colorado plains — the kind that makes your heart beat a bit faster, quickens your step and makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
It’s tarantula mating season, when male spiders scurry out of their burrows in search of a mate, and hundreds of arachnophiles flock to the small farming town of La Junta to watch them emerge in droves.
Scientists, spider enthusiasts and curious Colorado families piled into buses just before dusk last weekend as tarantulas began to roam the dry, rolling plains. Some used flashlights and car headlights to spot the arachnids once the sun set.
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If you want the whole story
https://apnews.com/article/tarantula-mating-colorado-spider-festival-da14f6d08bd4b325ce34970ec7864c73
Not LaJunta, but still damn impressive. It felt like it weighed three-four ounces. You could really feel its mass!
I wish I could be there for that!
In Northern California, Mt Diablo is also known for that.
preach
UberDork
10/5/24 8:06 a.m.
When I lived in PR the island I was on, Vieques, had all these little holes in the ground. They were tarantula homes. When it would rain a lot they'd come out and into peoples shelters. Had one cross the top of my foot one time, kinda freaky but not bad.
nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope
I like spiders and have considered keeping a jumping spider as a pet. I'll settle for saying hello to them on the side of my house.
NOHOME
MegaDork
10/7/24 12:25 p.m.
preach said:
When I lived in PR the island I was on, Vieques, had all these little holes in the ground. They were tarantula homes. When it would rain a lot they'd come out and into peoples shelters. Had one cross the top of my foot one time, kinda freaky but not bad.
Thats funny...I lived in PR until I was 10 years old and we had the same holes in the school playground. We used to tease the Tarantula with a long fuzzy weed, trying to coax it out. Rarely did we get one to exit but you would see the long hair covered legs and get creeped out.
