Any blessed facts about tarantulas to help cure my boyfriend's arachnophobia?
the columbian lesserblack tarantula is a fuckoff huge arachnid about 8 inches wide that feeds on a wide variety of both invertebrates and small vertebrates unlucky enough to have a giant fucking spider get the drop on them!
the lesserblack tarantulas spend most of their non-murder time constructing and hanging around in a set of underground burrows, where the female tarantulas hide and tend to their eggs. but what's really interesting is just who's sharing these burrows with them!
that's right! IT'S TIME FOR FROGGE.
the dotted humming frog is a teeny weeny amphibian that spends most of its life scuttling around in the dirt looking for bugs to eat, and a surprising number of them take up residence in occupied lesserblack territory!
this arrangement is by mutual consent- the tiny frog keeps the tunnels clear of any roaming ants or other insects that might like to snack on some giant spider eggs, and the lesserblack tarantula:
a) does not eat the dotted humming frog
b) provides shelter and safety from non-tarantula frog predators (a surprising amount of animals that would cheerfully eat a tiny inch-long frog are become a LOT less cheerful at the prospect of confronting an 8-inch wide tarantula. who knew, right?!)
and c) provides free frog food in the form of unwary egg-hungry tiny insects!
the frog thanks the tarantula by keeping the place clean and also not snacking on any baby tarantulas that happen to be present, so this arrangement seems to work just fine for both animals.
no word on if the spiders pet the frogs when the scientists aren't looking, though.
