Desert blonde tarantula
The desert blonde tarantula is a big, hairy spider that lives in a burrow in the desert. The front part of its body is covered in pale, light hairs, like blonde hair. Its legs and back end are much darker.
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Fun facts
It is easiest to spot in summer, after the desert rains.
Its burrow can be up to 5 centimetres wide, with a few silk threads spun across the door.
Females can live 24 to 30 years. Males live about 5 to 10 years.
A mother can have around 600 babies.
To grow, it sheds its whole skin. A young spider does this many times, about 25 times in two years.
Most asked questions about Desert blonde tarantula
?How big is the desert blonde tarantula?
Its body is up to about 5.6 centimetres long, and with its legs it can be 8 to 13 centimetres across.
?Why is it called blonde?
The front part of its body is covered in pale, light hairs that look blonde next to its dark legs.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Aphonopelma chalcodes
- Group
- Spiders
- Family
- Theraphosidae
- Classification
- Arachnida > Araneae > Theraphosidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Western desert tarantula, Arizona blonde tarantula, Mexican blonde tarantula
Where the facts come from
- Aphonopelma chalcodes (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Snake collector. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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