Chris Johnson, age 8, of Pekin, I11., for his question:
DO TARANTULAS SPIN WEBS?
The tarantula in many ways is like the other spiders in the world: He has eight legs and no feelers or wings; his body is divided into two parts: he is very near sighted even though he has eight simple eyes.
There are many features in the tarantula that are not found in other spiders. One is that he does not spin a web as most spiders do.
The hairy tarantula may exceed a half foot in length. He can bite and, while it will be painful, it will not be fatal. He hides in the daytime and stalks his prey at night, sometimes even capturing birds for food. He has also been known to kill lizards, frogs an:d other small animals.
Tarantulas have thick pads on their feet which enable them to climb steep surfaces with great ease. They are excellent hunters.
During the daylight hours they stay in their silk lined burrows and wait for the night to forage for food.
When this large spider is irritated, he rapidly scrapes the back of his abdomen and sends the fine hairs flying in a small cloud. This affords him some protection from small animals, including his worst enemy, the digger wasp. Tarantulas have been known to live to the very ripe old age of 25 years.
Trap door spiders are relatives of the tarantulas. They dig tunnels into the soil and cap the openings with movable doors. The burrows are waterproofed and lined with silk. The doors to the openings are often thick plugs of mixed silk and earth. The spider can hold the door firmly from within and resist with great strength any effort to force it open.
Tarantulas and trap door spiders are largely confined to the tropics and the warmer areas of the temperate zones.
In some parts of tropical Mexico and Central America, the tarantulas are called matacaballos horse killers. There is an erroneous belief in some quarters that the spider is responsible for a fatal hoof disease.
The natives of Thailand and Indochina, in areas where protein food is very scarce much of the time, roast and eat the large tarantulas.