Thousands of tarantulas search for love in Colorado

Finding a mate is a risky business this time of year for the Colorado brown Tarantulas that populate Southeastern Colorado. In the late Summer, thousands of male tarantulas scour the plains for a mate, provided they can safely cross the roads that stripe the Arkansas Valley.

The breeding expedition happens every year in areas around La Junta and the Comanche National Grassland. It’s not a migration, but just a quest for romance. The male tarantulas live just a short time after reaching sexual maturity at age 8, hence their eager search for a mate. Males can travel as many as twenty miles in search of a mature female and that is what is occurring during the tarantula migration.

Females are larger than the males and reach maturity between 8-10 years. It is not uncommon for the females to live over 20 years. Once females make their burrows, they tend to stick close to them for the entirety of their lives. Males rarely live one year past maturity and usually die during or shortly after migration because they are likely killed by vehicles while crossing the roads or they become the victim of predators like tarantula hawk wasps, coyotes or even female tarantulas.

The tarantulas can attain a body length of up to two inches and a leg spam of up to five inches. Despite their large size and fearsome reputation, tarantulas pose little hazard to humans. Tey don’t have venom that could hurt people. They’re not going to bite unless you physically grab them.

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