Venezuelan Suntiger Tarantula

(Psalmopoeus irminia)

I usually don’t have a favorite species when it comes to a specific kind of arthropod. I don’t have a favorite species of mantis, beetle, cockroach, scorpion, ect. But, I do have a favorite species of tarantula though! My favorite species of tarantula is the Venezuelan Suntiger (Psalmopoeus irminia). This one’s a female, and is still very young. She’ll grow to be much bigger than this! These tarantulas are native Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana. This tarantula is what’s referred to as a New World tarantula. New World tarantulas are any species of tarantula that are native to North and South America. These tarantulas tend to be more docile than Old World tarantulas, which are native to Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia. Most New World tarantulas also have urticating hairs, which are tiny barbed hairs that can cause inflammatory skin irritations when contact is made. Although the Venezuelan Suntiger is a New World tarantula, this species lacks urticating hairs, and tends to be very defensive at times. Instead of relying on urticating hairs, this species of tarantula has a high potent venom, which it uses to subdue its prey. The females of this species can live for about 12 years, while the males can live for about 3-4 years. The Venezuelan Suntiger is arboreal, which means that it lives on trees and in the tree canopies. I’ve been keeping this tarantula for about 4 months now, and she’s already molted twice! (shed her exoskeleton). I can’t wait until she becomes full grown!