Despite Fearsome Reputation, the Mighty
Tarantula Rarely Harms Humans

by Geronimo Murcia, age 12

Spider species can widely differ from one another. Some species either be big, small, have short or long legs, and are furry or not.

Spiders are very known around the world, with the most popular being the Tarantula, one of the most terrifying-looking in the world. Although tarantulas are highly feared by many, they are mostly harmless to humans. A tarantula bite can be very painful, but the venom they release is not fatal to people. These spiders naturally inhabit hot and warm areas all around the world.

This spider has many names, for instance, in Europe, they are known as Baboons, in Africa known as horse spiders, and in the U.S people call them tarantulas or bird-eating spiders. These are only a few out of the many names that the tarantulas have.

There are over 800 species of tarantulas. Many of these spiders have really powerful and painful bites. When a tarantula feels intimidated, it has the ability to control each hair on its body and move them to make itself look bigger and intimidating. The hairs on a tarantula's body can also assist it to climb and even allow some tarantulas to walk on water!

The various physical characteristics of each tarantula species allows these creatures to excel in hunting their prey. They usually feed on small insects and larger animals such as birds and snakes. Tarantulas are only one of thousands of spider spices around the world. They are one of the most commonly known species as well as the most feared.

[Source: The Big Bug Book ]