I encountered about 7 tarantulas during the summer. Of these, several were wandering either across the highway or across the road to McKittrick Canyon and one had been squashed by a passing car. The males do wander, sometimes long distances, in search of mature females in their burrows. Partly because of this the lifespan of the males is considerably shorter than that of the females; reports for captive females range from 10 to 30 years. A major enemy of the tarantula is the tarantula hawk, a large wasp blue-black with orange wings. During its development, a wasp larva feeds on one tarantula.
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