"A Tarantula! Did you see that?" "No, Where?" I said. We were in our Jeep, just having finished the Go John + Overton Trail hike, and it was 3:00pm, about five blocks from the Ranger Gate before leaving Cave Creek Park. Syd said, "I think I just ran over it." Well, of course this was one of his "testing me" situations, so this time I just said, "Great! I want to see it! Let's turn around and go back to where you saw it, and hopefully it still lives!" Knowing that he would then say, "Joking!"

But he didn't, and immediately made a turn like he did the morning on our boat in the Erie Canal when we all screamed that David, our son of 6 years at the time, wearing a winter parka, mittens and hat, had fallen overboard into the canal. Sharp, decisive, and 180 degrees - the jeep still upright - we went back to where Syd thought what he saw was a tarantula crossing the road.

There she was, only halfway across the southbound lane. Yes, she - as her color was brown and females are usually either blond or brown and are extremely hairy with heavy legs, while males are black with reddish hairs on the abdomen. (Tarantulas seen wandering on the desert at night in the summer are all males out looking for mates. Sometimes they are quite abundant.) 

One summer evening our friends, Rick and Faith, went with us on an evening desert jeep ride with "black light," and the only thing we spotted was a Tarantula, and of course right by my door as I got out. And it didn't leave its "spot" the whole time we were there!

This afternoon, as we watched our "new friend" crossing the road, she appeared to be moving too slowly, and we watched as several cars and pickups pulling horse trailers came up the road going north to the riding area.

We decided that we would stay with her as she crossed the road, as she seemed determined to get to the other side. Female tarantulas are heavier-bodied than males. Another sexual difference is that males have special hooks on the front legs just above the second joint. They use these to hold the female fangs during mating. The male must move beneath the female to about the middle of her abdomen to complete the mating process. After mating, the male quickly backs out of his precarious position, releases the female fangs and runs!

As "Sadie Spider" is moving to the oncoming North Bound lane, we remark about how Sadie really doesn't seem to notice us, but do remember that her eyes are incredibly small. Four pairs are located on a small bump in the middle of the ephalothrax. They can't be of much use in forming an image, so the tarantula probably isn't aware that we are even here, guarding her passage!

The main defense tarantulas have against consumption by predators is a patch of loose barbed hairs on the abdomen. When disturbed, they move their hind legs back and forth rapidly over this patch of hairs dislodging them into the air where these hairs may lodge in the eyes or nose of the invader, causing irritation and cessation of the predator's stalk. Sensitive people who come in contact with these hairs may break out in welts. Several people have gotten these hairs lodged in their corneas so care should be taken if one keeps tarantulas as pets.

We "moved traffic" (about 4 vehicles) around "Sadie" as she finished her non-nocturnal journey across the highway. She was very slow moving, but on a deliberate path for when she finally crossed the highway and was again on desert soil she paused, and I am not sure if her gesture of putting her two front legs together over her head was an indication that she felt we had "championed" the crossing, or perhaps was giving us the "high five" of a journey of friendship, as she was definitely aware of us now as we guarded her heroic venture during this unprecedented daytime event.

Tarantulas are the gentle giants of our spider world. Several species found here in our southwestern desert have a body length of up to about three inches. All species are nocturnal animals, living in holes of their own construction. 

They are the "Super Sleuths of the Spider World," as their holes are lined with silk, but very inconspicuous. Tarantulas go to a great deal of trouble to scatter any soil that they remove well away from the entrance. Its hole is about a foot deep, and angles off to the side in a chamber where the tarantula spends most of its time. What isn't immediately obvious is that silk strands extend out from the nest entrance. These serve to notify the occupant when potential prey approaches the hole. If the tarantula is down in the hole and not waiting for prey, it places a thin layer of silk across the entrance. And we thought that only super detectives and spies thought of that! 

At some of our eight eight annual classes we have had the privilege of hearing experts on not only spiders, but also scorpions, reptiles and all kinds of friends of our Sonoran desert. This included "living examples" which really made the classes extremely interesting. Watch for the upcoming spring and fall class offerings.