I saw a poor old tarantula smooshed today in a parking lot. Oh those big ‘ol spiders don’t stand a chance against a 2-3 ton vehicle. I’m hopeing that the driver was doing something other than paying attention when it happened, and that they didn’t run it over on purpose.
What was he doing in the parking lot? Well, it’s hard to believe but he was searching out a sweet little lady tarantula to mate with. Once the male spider has reached sexual maturity he goes out wandering to find a mate, often times traveling upwards of 50 miles. Once he finds a female, they mate, and usually get eaten by the female tarantula. During this time these male spiders are also very vulnerable to predators as they are usually out in the open, and sometime travel in large groups. So if you see them crossing a road or in a parking lot, try and avoid them. There’re probaly on their way out anyway, so let them have one last hurrah.