"Finding one can be fatal, whether she's in the mood or not. Females are known to snack on their suitors. "If the female is not receptive, you better run," said Rodrigo Monjaraz Ruedas, assistant curator of entomology for the Natural History Museum of L.A. County. "Even if the female is receptive and they mate - after they mate, the male needs to be really fast and sneaky because otherwise the female can also eat the male as well.""
"Natural cues are key, with autumn's initial precipitation generally triggering the march. Experts suspect males are following pheromones to hunkered-down females. While the arachnids inhabit areas such as the Angeles National Forest and Santa Monica Mountains year-round, mating season - when the males are on the move - offers the best opportunity to spot one. It runs from about July through November, and nighttime just after a rain is an ideal time to scout for the eight-legged critters."
Tarantula mating season in Southern California runs roughly July through November, with activity peaking in October after the first autumn rains. Male tarantulas leave burrows at night to search for sedentary, pheromone-marked females. Males perform tapping courtship and use hook-like structures on their first legs to hold females during copulation while pedipalps transfer sperm. Females sometimes eat uncooperative or post-mating males, so males must be quick and evasive. The arachnids inhabit areas such as the Angeles National Forest, Santa Monica Mountains, and Griffith Park year-round. Nighttime just after rainfall offers the best chance to observe roaming males.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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