If you’re hiking or camping in the arid Southwest and West in the next few months, get ready for what could be the experience – or fright – of a lifetime. Across the United States, in California, ...

A wave of tarantula sightings might occur in the next few months across portions of the U.S. as mating season begins. The secretive spiders are rarely seen – except during mating season. The hairy ...

Tarantula mating season occurs in the fall, primarily in southwestern states. Male tarantulas wander in search of females, while females remain near their burrows. Tarantulas are generally docile but ...

From the archive: This story first appeared in The Desert Sun in 2016. It was huge, plodding and menacing to my neighbors. I write of a large tarantula that walked in front of my sliding door last ...