Fun Mexican Red-knee Tarantula Facts For Kids

Are you a fan of exotic pets? If yes, then you must be familiar with the tarantula. Tarantulas are basically huge spiders which are calm creatures of the spider family.  A Mexican red-knee tarantula or Brachypelma hamorii is a subspecies of a tarantula found in Central America. This species has two sub-species which are both known as Mexican-red knee tarantulas, with the scientific name Brachypelma smithi and Brachypelma hamorii respectively. Mexican-red knee tarantulas are native to the Pacific coast of Mexico. Mexican-red kneed tarantulas have a unique defense mechanism to stay safe from predators wherein the 'urticating hairs' on the back legs are flicked towards a threatening predator. These hairs on the back legs cause irritation in the eyes and skin of predators, thereby giving the spider a chance of escaping. Along with the urticating hairs, the Mexican-red kneed tarantula has another defense mechanism against predators: venom. This venom is slightly dangerous for humans and can cause adverse skin reactions like that of a bee sting, though an allergy can cause extremely severe reactions.

These beautiful Mexican-red kneed tarantulas  are full of interesting facts. If you are a tarantula lover and want to know more about them, then here are some fascinating Mexican red-knee tarantula facts for you. After reading this article, do check out our other articles on six-eyed sand spider and orb-weaver spider as well.  

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What type of animal is a Mexican red-knee tarantula?

Mexican red-knee tarantula (Brachypelma hamorii) is a species of tarantula mainly found in Mexico. The Mexican-red kneed tarantula does not spin a web for catching the prey, instead they undertake hunting for catching their prey.

What class of animal does a Mexican red-knee tarantula belong to?

A Mexican red-knee tarantula belongs to the Arachnida class of animals. This species is native to Mexico and are known to create their burrows underground instead of spinning a web like other spiders.

How many Mexican red-knee tarantulas are there in the world?

There is not enough information available about the exact number of the Mexican redknee tarantula population. But their current conservation status is Vulnerable, which means that the population of Mexican-red kneed tarantulas is likely to face existential crisis in the near future.

Where does a Mexican red-knee tarantula live?

Mexican redknee tarantulas are found mainly in Mexico. The regions where they can be found are the Pacific coast of Mexico, the opposite side of the Balsas river, and in the states Colima, Jalisco and Michoacán.

What is a Mexican red-knee tarantula's habitat?

The Mexican red knee tarantula makes its habitat in hilly deciduous tropical forests. The Mexican red kneed tarantula makes burrows under the logs, rocks, roots of the tree, in thorny shrubs, tall grass, and other similar places. The burrow consists of one single entrance and a tunnel, which leads to one or more bowers. The entrance is built slightly larger than its body size so that it becomes easy for the Mexican red kneed tarantula to enter in. The tunnel in the burrow is around three times bigger than the length of its leg span, and this tunnel then opens into a large bower. The bower is big enough to accommodate the Mexican redkneed tarantula easily. The entrance of the burrow is sealable, so whenever the Mexican redkneed tarantula needs to have some privacy, then the entrance is sealed with silk or leaves and soil.

Deep burrows help in protecting Mexican redkneed tarantulas from predators and also in trapping the prey that is passing by. The female Mexican redkneed tarantulas are said to spend the majority of their time in these deep burrows only.

Who do Mexican red-knee Tarantulas live with?

These Mexican redkneed tarantula prefer to live alone. A female Mexican redknee tarantula meets the male tarantula at the time of mating only. And many times, female tarantulas kill and eat the male after mating.

How long does a Mexican red-knee tarantula live?

The Mexican red-knee tarantula lifespan ranges between 20-30 years. The Mexican redkneed tarantula lifespan in captivity can be a bit longer if proper Mexican red-knee tarantula care is performed by the owner.

How do they reproduce?

In order to reproduce, male red knee tarantulas make a web-like ball, and red knee tarantulas accumulate their sperm on the web. They carry this ball in their appendages and look for a suitable mating partner. The female red knee tarantulas spend most of their time in their burrows and wait for the male to come for mating.

After finding the female's burrow, the males red knee tarantulas tap on the silk lining, which seals the entrance. This tapping is done in order to grab the attention of the female. After doing the mating process, the male red kneed tarantula usually tries to run away, as in many cases a female Mexican red kneed tarantula eats their male partner after mating. However, even if the male runs away, they still die pretty soon after reproduction. The gestation period of a Mexican red kneed tarantula is six weeks long and after the eggs hatch, around 40 Mexican redknee baby tarantulas are born.

The Mexican red-knee tarantula  baby molts after every two weeks during the initial four months after being born and this frequency changes after that. After attaining sexual maturity at the age of four to five years, males stop molting while females continue to molt infrequently after attaining sexual maturity at the age of six to seven years of age.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of the Mexican redknee tarantula is vulnerable. The reason for their Near Threatened status is pet trade and habitat destruction. Efforts to conserve Mexican redknee tarantulas are being conducted by the government of Mexico.

What do Mexican red-knee tarantulas look like?

Mexican redknee tarantulas are large black colored spiders with reddish-orange patches on their legs. Mexican redknee tarantulas have eight legs, and all the legs have those reddish-orange patches on them. These spiders have hairs on their bodies. The appearance of a male and female Mexican redknee tarantulas is almost similar. The only difference between the two is that a female is slightly bigger in size than its male counterpart.

How cute are they?

The Mexican red-knee tarantula is a beautiful spider with a distinct appearance. These spiders can be considered the cutest of spiders that live on this planet.

How do they communicate?

In order to communicate, tarantulas use vibrations, and these vibrations are called seismic communication. Different levels of vibrations are used to express the thoughts, such as courting, warning rivals, and attempting to catch prey.

How big is a Mexican red-knee tarantula?

The Mexican red knee tarantula is a big spider that can measure up to 8-10 in long. The leg span of this species is around 6-7 in.

How fast can a Mexican red-knee tarantula run?

A Mexican red-knee tarantula can run at an impressive speed of 18 miles per hour in the wild.

How much does a Mexican red-knee tarantula weigh?

The average weight of a Mexican red-knee tarantula is 0.4-0.5 oz.

What are their male and female names of the species?

There are no special names assigned to the male and female species of tarantulas. They are simply called male tarantula and female tarantula respectively.

What would you call a baby Mexican red-knee tarantula?

A baby tarantula is known as a spiderling. The average litter size of a tarantula is around 40 eggs.

What do they eat?

A tarantula is carnivorous spider. The Mexican red-knee tarantula diet consists of wild animals such as small mammals, reptiles, and large insects in the wild such as crickets, locusts, and cockroaches. The Mexican red knee tarantula do not spin webs to catch the prey, rather they use their legs to catch the prey and subdue it with their venom.

Are they poisonous?

Mexican red-knee tarantulas are poisonous, but a Mexican red-knee tarantula bite is not harmful to humans though the venom in the bite can be lethal for insects and small animals in the wild. There is no account of anything serious happening after a tarantula's bite. In some very rare cases, some allergic reactions may take place, but this would not result in the death of a person. Another tool which they use for hunting are 'urticating hairs' on the back legs that are flicked towards a predator. These hairs on the back legs create irritation in the eyes of the prey.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, tarantulas are very calm and friendly spiders and are usually kept as a pet animal. So, it would not be wrong to say that these spiders can indeed make a good pet animal.

Did you know...

Mexican red knee tarantulas are not the type of animals that bond with their owners. These animals are calm and docile, but they do not build any kind of affectionate bond with their owners.

How many babies do Mexcian red-knee tarantulas have?

A Mexican red-knee tarantula lays hundreds of eggs, and on average, only 40 babies or spiderlings are able to hatch successfully inside the burrow.

Why is my Mexican red-knee tarantula not growing hair?

This is a common phenomenon observed in tarantulas. Your tarantula may lose its hairs, and re-growing might take time. You might be wondering why this is happening. If this change is bothering you, you don't need to worry about it anymore as your tarantula is molting, and this is a completely normal process. In order to grow, Mexican red-kneed tarantulas go through a process of shedding their hairs. This process is known as molting. Molting takes place once a year. This process allows the tarantula to grow larger and have an entirely new set of unblemished sensory and protective hairs.  Molting also helps them to get rid of parasites and fungus, which may have begun to grow on their external body. The damaged pedipalps are recovered gradually with each succeeding molting.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other anthropods including yellow sac spider, or frilled lizard.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Mexican red knee tarantula coloring pages.