By Francesco Tomasinelli

Updated 29/06/2007 

The famous european tarantulas (Lycosa tarantula, Lycosa narbonensis and others) are the biggest spider in our continent. They are called with the same vulgar name used for the big tropical hairy spider of the family Theraphosidae but belong to a different group: wolf spiders (Lycosidae). In Europe they are present only in southern countries with sunny coastal regions where they inspired various myths: in Apulia (Southern Italy) of XVI century, for example, spiders like these were credited to cause serious poisoning that could be healed only with a furious dance, the “tarantella”. Later this futile usage was unmasked and the real culprit of poisoning discovered: the european black widow, Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, a medium size and very recognizable spider with red dots on body, that can actually cause serious illness. In Southern Italy, anyway, tarantella tradition is still very popular today.

Tarantulas are usually nocturnal and during the day rest in borrow in the soil, sometimes closed by a small door. They venture out to hunt, using their strength and poison to subdue prey. No web is used to seize victims but they can easily kill almost every Arhtopods they encounter, including other spiders. Male wolf spiders, for example, should be very cautious while approaching females for mating. If not recognized or rejected they can be eaten by their stronger partners. Only if courtship is successful, involving visual signals with legs and “drumming” with pedipalps, the male can mate. The copulation lasts only a few minutes, after which the male escapes. A revolutionary American study in 2004 (involving Schizocosa species) discovered females wolf spiders can remember for months males that had previous relations with them. They were more interested in mating with these males than with others completely new to them, demonstrating some Arthropods can retain complex notions for a long time.
Hatched young’s congregate on mother’s abdomen for various weeks. They are carried around and protected before running independent life. It’s one of the not-so-rare cases of parental care in Arachnids.

See Surprising spiders for other photo stories on these Arachnid group         

Many thanks to nice people helping me in my researches: Marco Colombo, Emanuele Biggi, Fabio De Vita, Paolo Tongiorgi, Matteo Grotto.