The world is full of spiders and most people are afraid of these insects. However, there are some people who are fascinated by spiders, the way they spin their web and the way they hunt and catch their prey. That is why there is so much information available on spiders, including the largest spider in the world.

It goes without saying that the largest spider in the world is part of the tarantula family. It is known as the goliath tarantula or the bird eating spider. This spider is so big that it can easily eat a bird, hence the name. It has a leg span of thirty centimeters (twelve inches) and weighs about 150 gm (five ounces). It lives in the rainforests of Amazon where it hunts animals smaller than itself, birds, beetles, crickets, insect larvae, insects, reptiles and rodents.

The goliath tarantula inhabits burrows in swampy and marshy areas of the Amazon. A female can life for up to twenty-five years, with the average being six to fourteen years. On the other hand, male goliath tarantulas have a short life span of just three to six years. This spider comes in a range of colors, from light brown to dark brown with light markings on its legs. The spider has hair growing on its legs, body and abdomen. An adult goliath female has the ability to lay between 100 and 400 eggs and a single male is more than enough to fertilize all these eggs. Hence, this could be the reason that males do not live very long. After fertilization, eggs take around 2 months to hatch and the young spiders that emerge are referred to as spiderlings.

These spiders are quite aggressive when disturbed. They first try to warn the intruder by making loud hissing sounds and if this does not work, they can even bite the intruder or sting them with the hair growing on their body. The hairs on the body are released by rubbing the legs and this hair can enter the lungs or rest on the skin and result in irritation. The fangs of a goliath tarantula are huge. They are big enough topuncture human skin. Thankfully, when a goliath spider bites a human, the venom is not poisonous enough to be fatal. But it does cause some reaction. The wound site gets swollen and may be painful for a few hours. However, the wound tends to heal without any medical treatment.

Goliath tarantula may appear as fascinating pets for people who love spiders, especially because of their huge size. However, this spider does not make a good pet because of its ability to release its body hair. The people of Piaroha tribe living in Venezuela have found a better use of this spider. They consume it by cooking it over hot coals. These spiders provide the tribe with all the necessary proteins. They ensure that they do no consume the fangs and the sacs containing the poison. However, the tribe has found a unique use of the fangs. They use them as toothpicks!

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