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As if 2020 couldn't get any worse, by the end of this month Colorado will be seeing a massive tarantula migration as thousands of the male spiders will be traveling through the state in search of a mate.

Luckily, the migration is expected to take place primarily in southeastern Colorado in areas near towns like La Junta and Kim, Colorado.

The male tarantulas have a life expectancy of around ten years, at which time the spiders reach sexual maturity and set off on a journey to find a mate. The tarantulas have very sensitive fur and can detect vibrations in the ground to find a said mate, at which point they will mate, and are usually killed by the female tarantula immediately afterward.

While the idea of thousands of tarantulas migrating across the state is rather terrifying, this is not a phenomenon unique to 2020. In fact, certain breeds of tarantulas embark on this journey every single year.

Some of the tarantulas that will be migrating this summer and fall are the aphonopelma echinum also known as the Colorado Chocolate Brown Tarantula, the aphonopelma coloradanum, and the aphonopelma hentzi, also known as the Oklahoma Brown Tarantula.

Southeastern Colorado has a plethora of wildlife. In fact, when I lived in the area I'd see animals such as rattlesnakes, bears, coyotes, bobcats, and of course, tarantulas. Luckily, like a lot of dangerous wildlife, tarantulas rarely attack humans unless provoked.

The southeastern migration will run through September, while an additional southwestern migration will follow in October.

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