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Tarantulas are on the move and will swarm during mating season in certain states

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Tarantulas are on the move and will swarm during mating season in certain states


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Tarantula mating season is here — and if you’re in the Southwest, you might see hordes of these fist-sized spiders marching across the landscape. 

From late summer through fall, male tarantulas emerge from their burrows on a singular mission: to find a female and mate before they die, experts say.

“These males … they’ve been alive for five to eight years,” Cara Shillington, a biology professor who studies tarantulas at Eastern Michigan University, told Fox News Digital. (See the video at the top of this article.) 

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“They have one mating season. At the end of the season, they will die.”

This means that if you see a tarantula out and about between August and October, you’re witnessing its grand finale — the final act in a long, hidden life underground.

Male tarantulas emerge only to find a mate when they reach sexual maturity at around 8 to 10 years old, after which they usually die within months. (iStock)

“Tarantulas are less active during the cooler months, spending this time dormant in their burrows,” Paul Biggs, a board-certified entomologist and technical services manager at Orkin, told Fox News Digital.

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“Because of the harsh environmental conditions, they take shelter and conserve energy during this time,” added Biggs, who is based in Riverside, California.

Where to spot them

Tarantulas are commonly found across the Southern and Southwestern U.S., including in these states and areas:

  • Texas
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Oklahoma
  • New Mexico
  • Nevada
  • Utah
  • Southeastern Colorado

In some areas, their movements are so noticeable that the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website refers to it as “a migration.”

“They’re more scared of you than you are of them.”

Southeastern Colorado even hosts an annual Tarantula Festival in the town of La Junta, Shillington noted.

Tarantulas don’t just live on forest floors. The Colorado species also thrives in trees and prairie grasslands, said Shillington.

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TICKS SPREAD TO NEW REGIONS ACROSS AMERICA, BRINGING DANGEROUS DISEASES AND NEED FOR VIGILANCE

“In Colorado, they are in very distinct burrows. In Missouri, you find them more frequently under rocks,” she said.

The spiders’ ability to burrow depends on the soil, the expert noted. For example, hard clay makes digging tough, so some may opt for hiding under natural cover.

“Tarantulas are less active during the cooler months, spending this time dormant in their burrows,” an expert said. (iStock)

What to do if you see them

First, don’t panic. Tarantulas are not aggressive and prefer to avoid confrontation. 

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“Tarantulas don’t pose any threat at all,” Shillington told Fox News Digital. 

She noted that “they’re more scared of you than you are of them.”

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The arachnids rarely bite, and if they do, it’s a defensive move, which is why it’s best not to try to pick one up or mess with it. 

“Any time you try to grab it, the first thing it’ll do is try and run,” said Shillington. “They respond to anything trying to grab them as a threat.”

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Even though tarantulas are well-known in popular culture, and even as pets, scientists still have many unanswered questions. (iStock)

If you find one in your home, trap it in a large container and take it outside, said Shillington.

Biggs cautioned against using pest products, which may “make the situation worse.”

He advised, “If you can contain it to one area in the meantime, do so without physically handling it.”

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Even though tarantulas are well-known in popular culture, and even as pets, scientists still have many unanswered questions.

“We actually know very little,” Shillington admitted. “I don’t know when exactly they first come out or what prompts them. I have no idea how far they are walking to find females.”

For more Lifestyle articles, visit foxnews.com/lifestyle

She and her team are working to track activity across tarantula territory to better understand how the spider’s behavior changes over time.

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Dallas, TX

Dallas Police tweak off-duty job rule after saying man impersonated police

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Dallas Police tweak off-duty job rule after saying man impersonated police


No outside agencies or businesses will be able to directly hire off-duty police officers through the scheduling platform RollKall after police say a man impersonating law enforcement and killed by SWAT officers earlier this month slipped through the cracks.

Police Chief Daniel Comeaux announced the change in a memo Friday. He said Diamon-Mazairre Robinson, 39, who worked security for U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, had a company that was active and compliant with the Texas Secretary of State’s records as of March 2025.

Comeaux said this “allowed him to register as an external RollKall coordinator requesting services and he also fraudulently created an officer account.” Robinson logged into RollKall as early as April 2025.

The police department caught wind of it nearly a year later, after it found an individual using the platform was impersonating a peace officer. The police department’s intelligence unit investigated and the fugitive unit tracked Robinson down earlier this month.

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Police said Robinson had multiple active warrants against him, with some dating back to 2017. He worked for Crockett under the alias Mike King, and police said used an alias to connect off-duty officers with work. Police said he maintained a false persona for many years.

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Amid questions about the platform’s integrity, Comeaux said Robinson had no access to personal information of officers. No investigations or proprietary information seemed to have been compromised.

Meanwhile, the department met with RollKall executives to review safeguards in place.

The rule change, Comeaux said, will ensure all departmental policies and legalities are followed with “no interruption of off-duty services.” The rule goes into effect March 25.

The police department used RollKall, a job tracking system for off-duty jobs, to help officers find and manage additional work. The city started transitioning to the platform in 2023 after a 2018 city audit called for improvements in the oversight and documentation of the department’s previous off-duty program. RollKall is an Irving-based company.

By late 2024, the platform was deployed throughout the department.

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Miami, FL

Fire tears through longtime Miami Gardens home of retired teacher

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Fire tears through longtime Miami Gardens home of retired teacher


MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — A longtime Miami Gardens resident watched a fire tore through his home Friday evening.

Edward Brown Jr., known in the community as “Mr. Brown,” embraced friends and family as he watched the aftermath of the flames that destroyed the house he’s lived in for more than 50 years.

“I don’t have anything right now,” Brown said.

Video from Sky 10 showed heavy smoke pouring out of the home as fire ripped through the property.

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Brown, a retired teacher, said the fire started shortly after he had been cooking.

“Well, I thought I had turned the burner off, but when I went to the door, there was too much smoke,” he said.

He explained that he had just finished frying fish and was outside talking with his son when they realized something was wrong.

“I wasn’t really scared. Thank God I wasn’t scared,” he said.

Already outside, Brown and others tried to use a garden hose to control the flames as firefighters rushed into the neighborhood. The chaotic scene temporarily shut down the street.

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Neighbors gathered nearby, many concerned as crews worked to put out the fire.

“Everybody was concerned, and I want to apologize to them,” Brown said. “I didn’t mean to disturb the neighborhood like this.”

Mr. Brown will stay with friends and family while he decides to do with his home.

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.

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Atlanta, GA

CIO 100 Leadership Live Atlanta: AI spending enters a reckoning phase

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CIO 100 Leadership Live Atlanta: AI spending enters a reckoning phase






CIO 100 Leadership Live Atlanta: AI spending enters a reckoning phase | CIO




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