British zookeepers were in for a rare treat as a clutch of approximately 200 Montserrat tarantulas successfully hatched at Chester Zoo in Cheshire.
Zoo officials say the momentous event has never been achieved before, making Chester Zoo the first in the world to accomplish the hatching in captivity.
The hatched tarantulas are native to the Caribbean island of Montserrat, but very little is known about them. That is, until now.
Male And Female Montserrat Tarantulas
In 2013, a dozen of these hairy brown spiders were brought to Chester Zoo by a keeper after observing them in the wild during several field trips.
After three years of careful study and behavioral management, a female Montserrat tarantula gave birth to 200 baby spiders.
Gerardo Garcia, curator of lower vertebrates at Chester Zoo, says whether scientists can synchronize sexual maturity between spiders is "kind of a race against time."
One problem is the difference between the lifespan of female spiders and their male counterparts.
According to Garcia, male Montserrat tarantulas often reach 2.5 years at the most, while female Montserrat tarantulas live much longer and mature much more slowly.
The few male tarantulas that Garcia collected before were a precious resource, he says.
Because of this, there were few nervous moments for the scientists when they began match-making.
Indeed, as with many invertebrates, the encounters between male and female were more dangerous for the former.
Garcia says that instead of being a partner, the female Montserrat spider might take the male as prey.
Successful, But Anxious Encounters
The team observed a very tentative courtship ritual: the male spider drums out a special rhythm on the female's web, which has been spun near her burrow.
Even after three positive encounters, Garcia and his colleagues were still anxiously waiting.
Apparently, three pregnant female spiders disappeared. Garcia says the spiders dug a burrow on the ground and vanished.
What's more, the tarantulas do not feed and do not show up so scientists could observe them.
"[W]e don't know what's going on," says Garcia. "You just have to leave it for several months and see what happens."
Eventually, however, spiders began popping out of the earth, says Garcia. From one single burrow with one female, about 200 tiny spiderlings crawled out.
These baby spiders are the first of their species to be observed by scientists and are now being well taken care of at Chester Zoo.
Garcia says they're keeping the baby spiders in individual pots. A staff feeds the spiders one by one with tiny flies, up until the critters can eat bigger prey like crickets.
In 12 months' time, the Montserrat tarantulas might become part of a breeding program.
Furthermore, the male spiders that mingled with female spiders have all died after breeding, so there are no adult male spiders left in the colony.
Garcia and his team's work at Chester Zoo is a crucial step toward understanding the mysterious Montserrat tarantulas.
In fact, the species has only been officially described based on a male specimen about 100 years ago. Garcia believes seeing the tarantula's complete life cycle will help scientists learn more about them.
Watch the video below to see the spiders in action.
