What do the National Bird of India and a spider have in common? Not much, unless you are thinking of the Peacock Tarantula (Poecilotheria metallica). Blue is not a very common colour in the wilderness and so, this spider brings in a dash of unusual hues into the forests of south India. I’ve never seen such a pretty spider, but then again, I am glad we have not run into each other for reasons you will soon find out. If you happen to see this bright dash of blue in the wilderness, we advise you to freeze in your tracks, get your bearings right and back away. For, they say, just one nip from this brilliantly hued spider is so full of venom that it can cause a human being pain for more than a full week, and the effects can last up to a month! That just gives you an idea of how poisonous the venom of this tarantula can be. Once bitten, human beings have complained of headaches, stinging pain, swelling in the part that was bitten, and breaking out in unnatural sweat. In spite of the terrible pain from its bite, no human being has ever been known to die of a bite from the Peacock Tarantula. Often, it bites but does not inject the venom into the creature it has bitten. But the bite from its fangs that are about three-quarters of an inch long, can be most uncomfortable.
Hairy Version
This story is from the December 2019 edition of TerraGreen.
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This story is from the December 2019 edition of TerraGreen.
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