Spider lovers scurry to Colorado town in search of mating tarantulas and community

LA JUNTA, Colo. (AP) — Love is in the air on the Colorado plains — the kind that makes your heart beat a bit faster, quickens your step and makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

It's tarantula mating season, when male spiders scurry out of their burrows in search of a mate, and hundreds of arachnophiles flock to the small farming town of La Junta to watch them emerge in droves.

Scientists, spider enthusiasts and curious Colorado families piled into buses just before dusk last weekend as tarantulas began to roam the dry, rolling plains. Some used flashlights and car headlights to spot the arachnids once the sun set.

Back in town, festivalgoers flaunted their tarantula-like traits in a hairy leg contest — a woman claimed the title this year — and paraded around in vintage cars with giant spiders on the hoods. The 1990 cult classic film “Arachnophobia,” which follows a small town similarly overrun with spiders, screened downtown at the historic Fox Theater.

For residents of La Junta, tarantulas aren't the nightmarish creatures often depicted on the silver screen. They're an important part of the local ecosystem and a draw for people around the U.S. who might have otherwise never visited the tight-knit town in southeastern Colorado.

Word spread quickly among neighbors about all the people they had met from out of town during the third year of the tarantula festival.

Among them was Nathan Villareal, a tarantula breeder from Santa Monica, California, who said he heard about the mating season and knew it was a spectacle he needed to witness. Villareal sells tarantulas as pets to people around the U.S. and said he has been fascinated with them since childhood.

“Colorado Brown” tarantulas are the most common in the La Junta area, and they form their burrows in the largely undisturbed prairies of the Comanche National Grassland.

In September and October, the mature males wander in search of a female's burrow, which she typically marks with silk webbing. Peak viewing time is an hour before dusk when the heat of the day dies down.

“We saw at least a dozen tarantulas on the road, and then we went back afterwards and saw another dozen more," Villareal said.

Male tarantulas take around seven years to reach reproductive readiness, then spend the rest of their lifespan searching for a mate, said Cara Shillington, a biology professor at Eastern Michigan University who studies arachnids. They typically live for about a year after reaching sexual maturity, while females can live for 20 years or more.

The males grow to be about 5 inches long and develop a pair of appendages on their heads that they use to drum outside a female's burrow. She will crawl to the surface if she is a willing mate, and the male will hook its legs onto her fangs.

Their coupling is quick, as the male tries to get away before he is eaten by the female, who tends to be slightly larger and needs extra nutrients to sustain her pregnancy.

Like many who attended the festival, Shillington is passionate about teaching people not to fear tarantulas and other spiders. Tarantulas found in North America tend to be docile creatures, she explained. Their venom is not considered dangerous to humans but can cause pain and irritation.

“When you encounter them, they're more afraid of you,” Shillington said. “Tarantulas only bite out of fear. This is the only way that they have to protect themselves, and if you don't put them in a situation where they feel like they have to bite, then there is no reason to fear them.”

Many children who attended the festival with their families learned that spiders are not as scary as they might seem. Roslyn Gonzales, 13, said she couldn't wait to go searching for spiders come sunset.

For graduate student Goran Shikak, whose arm was crawling with spider tattoos, the yearly festival represents an opportunity to celebrate tarantulas with others who share his fascination.

“They're beautiful creatures,” said Shikak, an arachnology student at the University of Colorado Denver. “And getting to watch them do what they do ... is a joy and experience that's worth watching in the wild.”

Tarantula crossing stickers are piled on a table at the Tarantula Festival in La Junta, Colo., on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Andrew Motte, a filmmaking student at Montana State University, films a tarantula on the plains near La Junta, Colo., on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

A male tarantula looks for a mate while a researcher's dog stands watch on the plains near La Junta, Colo., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

A tourist looks for tarantulas on the plains near La Junta, Colo., on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Raven Myhre, of Fort Collins, Colo., draws a spider at the Tarantula Festival in La Junta, Colo., on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Kendall Foreman, left, and Raven Myhre, right, both of Fort Collins, Colo., create artwork at the Tarantula Festival in La Junta, Colo., on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

A male tarantula looks for a mate on the plains near La Junta, Colo., on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

A tourist photographs a male tarantula looking for a mate on the plains near La Junta, Colo., on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Car headlights shine on a male tarantula looking for a mate on the plains near La Junta, Colo., on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

A male tarantula looks for a mate on the plains near La Junta, Colo., on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

A classic car is decorated with fake spiders at the Tarantula Festival in La Junta, Colo., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Goran Shikak, an arachnology graduate student at The University of Colorado Denver, shows off his spider tattoos during the Tarantula Festival in La Junta, Colo., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

A male tarantula looks for a mate on the plains near La Junta, Colo., on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

A man walks in the Tarantula Festival parade in La Junta, Colo., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

A male tarantula looks for a mate on the plains near La Junta, Colo., on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Dr. Cara Shillington, a biology professor at Eastern Michigan University, surveys the plains during tarantula mating season near La Junta, Colo., on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Car headlights shine on a male tarantula looking for a mate on the plains near La Junta, Colo., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

A male tarantula looks for a mate on the plains near La Junta, Colo., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.(AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II announced Monday he is suspending his campaign for governor and instead joining the race for secretary of state of the battleground state.

Gilchrist, a progressive Democrat from Detroit, did not cite a specific reason for the change in his video announcement, but said he is not finished being a “public servant.” His departure clears up the Democratic primary and benefits the frontrunner, Jocelyn Benson, who is the current Secretary of State, in the race to replace term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The secretary of state is Michigan's top election official, a highly politicized and visible role since the 2020 presidential election.

“Michigan has been ground zero in the battle for free and fair elections before, and it will be again,” Gilchrist said.

As Whitmer’s second in command and her running mate in two elections, Gilchrist struggled to match Benson’s name recognition and fundraising. He reported having around $378,000 of cash on hand as of October compared to Benson’s $2.98 million.

Benson is now set to face only Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson in the Democratic primary in August.

The inclusion of a well-known independent candidate has created a new problem for Democrats this year. Former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is avoiding costly primaries altogether by running as an independent. The Michigan Democratic Party slammed the former Democrat last week for not standing up to President Donald Trump’s second term policies.

In the Republican primary, U.S. Rep. John James, former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, state Senate Leader Aaric Nesbitt and former Michigan House speaker Tom Leonard are jockeying for the nomination.

In his bid to become secretary of state, Gilchrist will face four other Democrats: Barb Byrum, Ingham County clerk; Aghogho Edevbie, deputy secretary of state; Suzanna Shkreli, a former Whitmer aide and commissioner of the Michigan State Lottery; and Adam Hollier, a former state senator from Detroit.

Michigan does not hold primary elections for the secretary of state position; the nominee is chosen by precinct delegates during party conventions. The Michigan Democratic Party convention is scheduled for April 19.

State Republicans plan to hold their nominating convention March 28 and GOP figures chasing the party's nomination for secretary of state include Anthony Forlini, Macomb County Clerk, and Monica Yatooma, an Oakland County executive.

In addition to the office of the governor and secretary of state, Michigan voters will be selecting a new state attorney general and a U.S. senator in November.

FILE - Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II waits before the State of the State address, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, at the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis, file)