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Project Noah Nature School
Aphonopelma hentzi
Very common tarantula seen in Texas.
Sasha (my dog) and I were out in the yard on 1 Oct when I noticed she had found something. Nothing gets by that girl! I told her to leave it and went to see what she had found. It was a tarantula hawk dragging a tarantula across the yard. (I wish I had had the presence of mind to record that before I tried to kill the wasp.) After unsuccessfully trying to kill the TH - hoping it died some time later due to injuries - I brought the tarantula in the house and put it in a betta bowl. He sat in there and didn’t move for 28 days. I misted him daily with water and on the 29th I noticed he was moving his legs! He was in the kitchen window in the sun. I came back later and he had moved!!! I put him in a fish tank that is set up like a terrarium. He has recovered enough to eat a grasshopper. When he has fully recovered I am letting him go. I may need to wait until spring though.
Spotted on Oct 1, 2014
Submitted on Nov 3, 2014
1 Comment
While I'm sure the tarantula appreciates you saving it from the tarantula hawk, it's always best to let nature do what it does and not intervene :) The tarantula hawk was just trying to find a body to lay eggs in. They have had this relationship for presumably thousands of years and both species are doing just fine with things the way they are!