Tag: tarantula hole

KEEP OUT!

Webbing covers the entrance hole to the nest of an Arizona blond tarntula on September 16, 2023. Originals: _Z728135.NEF to _Z728230.NEF

One of the tarantulas living in our backyard covers its hole before sunrise with a patchwork of webbing, removing it come nightfall when it emerges to wait for prey to walk by. I hear crickets in our front yard and elsewhere in the neighborhood but not in our backyard for some strange reason. While many spiders spin webs to catch prey this is more like a ‘No Solicitors’ or ‘No Vacancy’ sign. A larger tarantula living 12 feet away doesn’t cover its entrance hole however.

I’m not the only one taking a break for the fall and winter, they have both sealed their entrances with dirt and rocks as they tuck in for the cooler months, the larger one a couple of weeks ago and this one last night. Enjoy your long rest, see you in the spring.

Surprises

The hole of a tarantula burrow (I think) is covered with spider's silk on the Vaquero Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 15, 2018. Originals: _DSC4823.ARW and _DSC4829.ARW

I researched Arizona as much as I could before deciding to move here and now that we’ve been here over four months I can say there haven’t been any major surprises. I was a little worried that the summer heat and inescapable sun would drive me crazy right away, the risk I thought was low but the consequences severe. I thought it more likely I might be sick of the heat by the end of the summer and would want to escape back to the mountains or coast of the Northwest for a vacation, but so far that hasn’t happened. We are probably past the hottest days although it will still be above 100 degrees for a while yet. I’ve been pleased to find I can hike even on the hottest days as long as I’m on the trails early and off before the real heat of the day. We’ll see how I feel about the heat in the long term but so far the air conditioning, a nice swimming pool, and the wonders of the Sonoran Desert have made it tolerable.

Speaking of surprises, I was hiking near Granite Mountain one day when I saw what at first seemed like outstretched fingers of a human hand retreating into the earth before I quickly realized it was a tarantula pulling its legs into its hole. We saw a tarantula during a week’s vacation in New Mexico years ago so I assumed they would be more visible but so far I’ve only seen the one. I think this may be a tarantula hole, I saw it on the Vaquero Trail but didn’t see its owner, but I’m far from certain as I still have much to learn about my new home.