It’s a crisp night in the rugged mountains above Los Angeles following the first rains of fall.
This is the night of the lustful tarantula — and it’s filled with peril.
Every year, male tarantulas strike out from their burrows in search of a lover. Finding one can be fatal, whether she’s in the mood or not. Females are known to snack on their suitors.
“If the female is not receptive, you better run,” said Rodrigo Monjaraz Ruedas, assistant curator of entomology for the Natural History Museum of L.A. County. “Even if the female is receptive and they mate — after they mate, the male needs to be really fast and sneaky because otherwise the female can also eat the male as well.”
In California, October is typically a prime mating month for the bulky, hirsute spiders. Natural cues are key, with autumn’s initial precipitation generally triggering the march. Experts suspect males are following pheromones to hunkered-down females.
While the arachnids inhabit areas such as the Angeles National Forest and Santa Monica Mountains year-round, mating season — when the males are on the move — offers the best opportunity to spot one. It runs from about July through November, and nighttime just after a rain is an ideal time to scout for the eight-legged critters.
All is fair in love and war
A tarantula love act begins with a courtship ritual. That might entail the male tapping on the ground or the female’s web and — if she’s receptive — she’ll respond in kind.
Because of the risk involved, male tarantulas use hook-like structures on their first pair of legs to hold the female during coitus, according to Monjaraz Ruedas. Another set of appendages, called pedipalps, are used to transfer sperm.
A single act can produce hundreds of baby tarantulas — adorably called spiderlings — though many don’t survive in the wild.
Meet your local spiders
There are 10 species of tarantulas roaming the Golden State, including at least two that can be found in L.A. County.
The county’s most common variety is the California ebony tarantula, or Aphonopelma eutylenum, which can range from light beige to their namesake color. The female’s leg span can reach up to five inches.
There’s also the desert-dwelling Aphonopelma iodius, often found in the Mojave.
California is home to more than 1,300 species of spiders, and about 40% of all of the nation’s spiders live in the state. As Monjaraz Ruedas put it, “that’s a lot of species.”
What about those fangs?
Flip around a tarantula so it’s belly up and you’ll be met with sizable fangs.
Like almost all spiders, tarantulas have venom. They use it to eat. However, it doesn’t pose a threat to humans, according to Monjaraz Ruedas, who likened it to the strength of bee venom.
Typically, a spooked tarantula will try to run and hide, said Lisa Gonzalez, program manager of invertebrate living collections at the county Natural History Museum.
“They’re really not very bitey animals,” she said. “And I can say this with confidence because I’ve been working with spiders since I was a little girl.”
But there is another defense mechanism. A spider can flick off irritating hairs from the backside of its abdomen, which feel like fiberglass or minute cactus spines.
A tarantula at the museum named Taco, recently brought out for educational purposes, initiated the behavior after gamely posing for the cameras for a while.
In contrast, some parts of the tarantula feel almost like sable fur.
“They’re soft like kitties,” Gonzalez said.
Pitfalls of city living
Urbanization poses dangers for local tarantulas during mating season, according to Monjaraz Ruedas. On their quest to find mates, males can drown in backyard pools or get flattened on busy roads.
“But in general mountains represent good habitat for them,” he said, “so they can survive really well in those areas.”
Hankering to see the real deal?
Tarantulas can be spotted in the wild — or, for now, at the Natural History Museum.
Through November, the museum features an open-air spider pavilion, a ticketed exhibit that allows visitors to walk amid hundreds of spiders known as orb weavers and their intricate webs. There are also enclosed habitats with species including tarantulas.
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