Mrs. Pelkey’s Behavioral Research

ProjectThe Chilean Rose-Haired

Tarantula

Chilean Rose – Haired Tarantula

About the Tarantula…

• Scientific Name: Grammastola rosea

• Lifespan: - females: 20 years- males: 4-5 years

Lifestyle and habitat…

• The rose-haired tarantulas native home is in the Chilean jungle. Recently, they have been domesticated and used as household pets.

• They prefer living alone in small humid places; with the temperature around 70-80 degrees.

What it eats…

• The tarantula will eat crickets, grass-hoppers, beetles, moths, mealworms, cockroaches and pinky mice.

What eats it…

• Snakes, scorpions, wasps, lizards, birds, and even humans arethe tarantulaspredators…

Communication…

• When the tarantula feels threatened, it will rear up on it’s back legs. If provocation continues, it will bite.

Territory…• Tarantulas have urticating hairs located on their back side.

These are used to defend it’s territory.

• When the spider is threatened, it will flick the hind legs releasing abdominal hairs which are barbed and typically aimed at the face of the attacker. These barbs can facilitate deep penetration and can cause significant irritation to the skin, eyes and nose.

Courtship and mating…

• A male will eventually approach the female’s burrow with caution, tapping and vibrating his legs to attract her out of her shelter.

• At the opportune moment the male will lunge himself forward and using his legs as hooks, he will hold a female and inject a fertilizing fluid.

• In the weeks following fertilization the male dies. The female can have up to 100 - 500 offspring.

Other Behaviors…

• Rose-Haired Tarantulas are nocturnal.

• All tarantula’s molt (shed their exoskeleton). Before they do this they will exhibit strange behavior – such as laying on their backs and spinning webs.

Questions?

Sources• www.wildanimalsonline.com

• Animal Encyclopedia