Cerrillos Hills State Park manager Peter Lipscomb tells a crowd of about 87 people about the Western Desert Tarantula searching for the species in the state park during a tour / hike on October 18. (Andy Stiny / Albuquerque Diary)
Copyright © 2021
CERRILLOS – In Italy from the 16th to the 18th centuries, the bite of a tarantula was suspected of causing hysteria, the victims of which were cured by frenzied dances, resulting in the lively folk dance called tarantella.
But no one was bitten and there was no frenzied dancing when nearly 100 people showed up for a 1½ mile, 1½ hour guided tour / hike at Cerrillos Hills State Park last week, all interested in the day’s theme: tarantulas.
77 people of all ages hiked and listened with keen attention as park manager Peter Lipscomb led the hike and gave animated, humorous lectures about the fluffy creatures at the stations.
“Mr. Boris” is an example of a male Western Desert Tarantula. Found in New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico, the species can reach three to four inches wide. (Andy Stiny / Albuquerque Diary)
“It’s one of the special things about being here in New Mexico, as well as the smell of toasted chilli in the fall, the turning of the aspen leaves, there are things we get used to and make our own little personal calendars with, and tarantulas – who are out and about during mating season – are part of it for some people, ”Lipscomb told the crowd.
He warned that he could not predict wildlife behavior to quench hopes and none of the creatures were sighted.
This is an annual event, but the first since 2019. While many local residents showed up, Pattie Chouinard and Cheryl Rodzen, both Connecticut paralegals, piqued their interest on a two-week New Mexico tour to drive off Santa Fe . Rodzen is a huge fan of the Green Bay Packers and the two were looking for some post-game activity.
We saw it on a website, said Chouinard. “We were looking for something today and we stay in Santa Fe and thought we were going to Madrid and walking around and that came up and it happened to be today,” she said.
“We love it up here (New Mexico),” said Rodzen, noting that it was their fourth or fifth visit. “We certainly don’t have them (tarantulas) in Connecticut, and we’ve seen two so far on this trip.” These have been spotted in southern New Mexico. “We thought it would be a cool time, maybe to see more,” said Rodzen.
After a short walk up the street to the trailhead, Lipscomb stopped to speak to the group. After correcting someone’s claim that the tarantulas migrate (they don’t), one man shouted the answer to why they are now on the move: “In search of love”.
“This is mating season, cherchez la femme (French for ‘finding the woman’),” said Lipscomb, adding a touch of romantic language to romantic endeavors. “That’s why tarantulas are active at this time of year,” he said.
Before Lipscomb led the group up a moderately steep path under the deep blue autumn sky, he drew a glass frame with “Mr. Boris ”, a male western desert tarantula that he spared a road a few years ago. A reporter asked for a close-up photo of “Boris”. This is “Mr. Boris ”, Lipscomb corrected him.
He went into some of the anatomical details of the arachnids, such as their 10 appendages, and put aside any biological debate about whether or not they were spiders.
Two of these appendages are called pedipalps, like “little hands” with which they “fetch things or move things back and forth”.
The females have a much larger abdomen and can live between eight and ten years old, while the life expectancy of the males, if they can avoid a car, is three to four years.
Lipscomb said he had only seen one woman in 12 seasons.
“Male tarantulas are the only ones we see this time of year,” said Lipscomb. “They are looking for the females, so it is difficult to find a female tarantula because she is in her burrows and the males generally only find her by drumming that the females perform,” he said. “If they’re interested in a gentleman caller, they’ll start rummaging around and making some noises and the males may be able to tell.”
The hikers, including Judy Robinson and her husband Neil from Santa Fe, seemed to enjoy the camaraderie of the tour and Lipscomb’s expertise.
“We like to hike anyway, and I love guided tours with someone who knows their stuff so you can learn,” says Judy Robinson.
Lipscomb called tarantulas “really amazing animals” and used the framed “Mr. Boris ”, cards and a soft tarantula, he delighted the unenlightened with more esoteric tarantula trivia.
“They have eight eyes, four in the front, one on each side and two in the back,” and they rub their hind legs when at risk to shed barbed hair, which “can irritate and repel potential predators.”
There seems to be some ambiguity regarding tarantula folklore, as is often the case in folklore. While some sources say it was a tarantula bite that sparked hysterical attacks in ancient Italy, Lipscomb has a slightly different attitude and attributes the frenzy of the wolf spider, which shares some tarantula traits.
“It’s actually the wolf spider that caused the toxicity that got people crazy, tarantulas got a bad rap, man, they definitely have,” Lipscomb said.
Both spiders have a venomous bite, but for humans it is generally equated to a bee sting.
Even the teenagers in the group got some insight from the day in the fresh air and maybe an experience to share with classmates.
Steven Zappe, 7, of Santa Fe listens as Peter Lipscomb, manager of Cerrillos Hills State Park, describes the habits and characteristics of the Western Desert Tarantula during an October 18 tour / hike to look for species in the state park Looking for. (Andy Stiny / Albuquerque Diary)
Steven Zappe, 7 from Santa Fe, was out with his father Christopher. “I liked it,” said Steven of the hike.
“I didn’t know there was such a thing as the tarantula hawk wasp,” he added, referring to Lipscomb’s description of a tarantula predator.
Robert Gear and his wife Jolene from Eldorado also enjoyed their day. A neighbor who had previously done the tarantula tour told them about it. “Hiking and nature and so on, that’s always nice,” says Gear. “I would have liked to see some tarantulas, but we’ve been warned … and now we know where they are, I think we’ll get out alone at some point.”
Connecticut tourists Pattie Chouinard and Cheryl Rodzen also enjoyed their day and plan to return to the state. “It was a good hike. I think I was hoping we’d see tarantulas, but I learned a lot about them even though I didn’t see any, ”said Chouinard.
“I found it very interesting, I think it was a great participation,” said Rodzen. “It was great to see a lot of people, especially locals, who were interested in the local insects. I’m glad we made it. “
But how did it compare to Packers-Bears? “The Packers game was a little different,” said Rodzen. The Packers stung the bears 24-14.
Comments are closed.