"Tarantula mating season runs from about July to November, skewing toward October in California. Female tarantulas sometimes eat their suitors."

"It’s a crisp night in the rugged mountains above Los Angeles following the first rains of fall.

This is the night of the lustful tarantula — and it’s filled with peril.

Every year, male tarantulas strike out from their burrows in search of a lover. Finding one can be fatal, whether she’s in the mood or not. Females are known to snack on their suitors.

“If the female is not receptive, you better run,” said Rodrigo Monjaraz Ruedas, assistant curator of entomology for the Natural History Museum of L.A. County. “Even if the female is receptive and they mate — after they mate, the male needs to be really fast and sneaky because otherwise the female can also eat the male as well.”"

Lila Seidman reports for the Los Angeles Times October 25, 2025. [2]