Tarantula (Latin Lycosa) is a poisonous (araneomorphic spider) and a fairly large spider, from the wolf spider family. The body in the largest representatives of this genus is about three and a half centimeters long. Very often people mistakenly consider the tarantula to be a large spider. Basically, due to misconceptions, tarantulas are called so. This is confusing.
These spiders live in steppes or deserts, in arid regions. During daylight hours, tarantulas sleep in their burrows. Minks are vertical holes that extend almost a meter into the ground. During the night, spiders get out of their hiding place and go hunting. Insects are the most common prey. These spiders are also unique in that they do not use cobwebs to weave webs, they cover the walls of their shelter with cobwebs, or to build an egg cocoon.
As a member of the spider tribe, the tarantula has the characteristics of its relatives. Namely: their legs are not equipped with a complete set of muscles, only flexor muscles. They unfold under the pressure of the hemolymph. This is why injured spiders become lethargic.
They breed at the end of July and August. The female is looking for a mink that is more suitable in her opinion, lays eggs there, which she later braids with cobwebs. After that, she wears them on the so-called arachnoid warts, until they hatch. And even after that, for a certain time she wears them on her belly. Tarantula poison fatal, but only for some animals. For humans, it is nothing more than a simple hornet bite. Edema appears, but this is not fatal. In the blood of this spider there is an antidote to its poison. It is for this reason that fights between tarantulas almost never end in death. But there are exceptions when the cause of death is blood loss.
At the moment, the most famous of the genus of tarantulas are two species. Apulian tarantula and South Russian tarantula.
Apulian
kind of about a centimeter long. Most often it can be found in the city of Taranto, Italy. By the way, it was here that this name appeared. He gained his fame among people in the Middle Ages, he was mistakenly considered poisonous. In many legends and tales, he was assigned terrible roles, and these tales and legends were passed down from generation to generation. It was believed that many diseases and epidemics arise precisely through his fault. It has now been proven that the spider is not poisonous. Although in Italy they did not really believe in it. An antidote was even invented against this spider. The antidote was a dance until the last strength was lost. People believed that it saved them from poison. So by the way, the famous dance of the tarantella was born.
South Russian spider
very famous in Russia. The length of the tarantula is about two to three centimeters. He lives in burrows, and he was remembered for having a dark cap on his head. That is why it is very difficult to confuse him with his fellows.
