A Spider’s Life Sharing the World Tarantulas The female delays egg laying until the right time. Tarantulas, like all spiders, play a crucial role in the East Bay She manufactures a silken masterpiece—her acting as biological controls of insect populations. egg case. The soft cushiony inner layer protects They also provide food for other creatures, Regional Park District her fragile brood. The strong outer layer is lined including spiders, mammals, lizards, birds, 2950 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland, CA 94605 with barbed hairs to protect against parasites. and wasps. 1-888-EBPARKS or 1-888-327-2757 (TRS 711) Hundreds of eggs nestle within. On sunny days, Human threats to tarantulas include cars, habitat ebparks.org the mother warms her developing offspring destruction, collection, or extermination. The by dragging the case to the burrow entrance. East Bay Regional Park District preserves habitats The rubbery eggs hatch into deutova, or “eggs- of grassland and oak/pine woodland, preferred Visitor Centers with-legs.” They cannot walk or move until by tarantulas. Be careful not to step on tarantulas Ardenwood Historic Farm, Fremont after their first molt, when they shed their crossing roads and trails in late summer/fall. 510-544-2797, [email protected] exoskeleton (outer skin) in order to grow. Remember that collection of tarantulas in Big Break Regional Shoreline, Oakley Then they leave the sheltered case, forming parklands is prohibited. Enjoy a visit with these Big Break Visitor Center at the Delta a fuzzy carpet of spiderlings. gentle giants, but allow them the freedom to 510-544-3050, [email protected] Hunger drives them out on their own. They live their lives as tarantulas always have—as Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve, Antioch seek shelter until they can excavate their own important players in the intricate web of life. 510-544-2750, [email protected] burrows, using their pedipalps and chelicerae Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont (fangs). Sometimes they use webby sheets to haul Questions? 510-544-3220, [email protected] dirt from the hole. They spend the next several years in darkness, hunting insects, spiders, If you have any questions about tarantulas in the Crown Memorial State Beach, Alameda and even small lizards at night. East Bay, call or email a Park District naturalist Crab Cove Visitor Center and Aquarium at one of the Visitor Centers. 510-544-3187, [email protected] Unlike other spiders, tarantulas don’t use webs, Del Valle Regional Park, Livermore jump or run to capture prey. Instead, they hunt 510-544-3146, [email protected] by waiting motionlessly near their burrows. They Open summer weekends have poor eyesight but special hairs that help them smell, sense vibrations, and detect air Garin/Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Parks, Hayward currents from passing prey. The spider 510-544-3220 (Coyote Hills), [email protected] Open summer weekends then grabs the insect and utilizes its venomous bite to kill Sunol-Ohlone Regional Wilderness, Sunol its prey. 510-544-3249, [email protected] Open weekends only Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley Botanic Garden: 510-544-3169, [email protected] Tilden Nature Area/Environmental Education Center 510-544-2233, [email protected]

Regional Parks Membership enjoy free day-use parking, swimming, dog pass, and more. 510-544-2220 regionalparksfoundation.org

Bay Area blonde tarantula On the cover: Ba y Area blonde tarantula (Aphonopelma smithi) (Aphonopelma smithi) Soy Ink Bug 20200513 goes here

Tarantulas Brochure 2020-5-5.indd 1 5/13/20 11:34 AM Courtship If the tarantula survives these threats, he may discover a female’s burrow. Courtship begins with rhythmic tapping of the ground with pedipalps. His body vibrates. He slaps the Female ground with his front legs—much like knocking Tarantula on the door. She scrambles out with raised Tarantula Anatomy Hawk Wasp fangs and pedipalps. To ensure his safety against the larger female, he uses his new tibial spurs, hooking them under her fangs. He carefully props her upwards, and during a mad tangle Tarantulas Deadly Enemy of dancing legs and pedipalps, mating occurs. Contrary to common belief, he will probably It is summer in the rolling hills of the East In late summer, a female tarantula hawk wasp not become her next meal. Though not Bay. The shade of oaks and pines offers some (Pepsis sp.) cruises the grasslands seeking unheard of, cannibalism is rare. Instead, they respite from the intense heat. In the darkness tarantulas. She needs food—not for herself, but may mate several times, or he’ll search for of a silk-lined burrow extending into the cool for her offspring. If she spots a wandering victim another female. Whether the male mates earth, the male Bay Area Blonde Tarantula or entices one from its burrow, a deadly dance or not, his days are numbered. After reaching (Aphonopelma smithi) transforms. Flipping over, commences. The tarantula defends itself with maturity, he likely won’t see another spring. the arachnid begins to shed his outer skin. fangs while the wasp dives underneath to give Females live up to 30 years. His new exoskeleton is fully formed beneath. a paralyzing sting—one of the most painful in the His cephalothorax (head-chest) hinges open. insect world, though not lethal. She drags her He drags his body out through this door. Legs victim into a hole, lays a single egg, and seals must be quickly pulled from their old skeletal the still-living spider into its grave. coverings, lest they become trapped forever. The larva hatches and begins to Fluids pump through his body, swelling the soft feed, avoiding vital organs, skin to its proper size before it hardens. He has which keeps its host become an adult after about seven years and alive and fresh. After a has acquired tools for mating. His front legs month, even these are consumed before now have tibial spurs, which resemble hooked no destination, or direction. Instead, males tend thumbs. Pedipalps, leg-like “helping hands” the wasp completes to wander great distances randomly searching. its life cycle. by his mouth, have become bulb-like and Thus far, life has been spent under cover of are now ready for mating. darkness; now, he searches by day and night. In late summer, he moves to the burrow’s He may succumb to the elements or predators. entrance, awaiting the protection of night. His defense is not his venomous bite, which, He, and thousands of other males born nearly though painful, is generally harmless to humans. a decade ago, will spend the rest of their lives Instead, his legs flick barbed hairs from his wandering in search of females. abdomen into a predators’ eyes and nose, causing Although stories of mass tarantula migrations burning, stinging, or even temporary blindness. abound, this late summer movement is not He is relatively defenseless, however, against his Tarantulas truly a migration. There is no synchronization, most fearsome foe, the tarantula hawk wasp. preparing to mate. Female on left.

Tarantulas Brochure 2020-5-5.indd 2 5/13/20 11:34 AM