Avicularia Versicolor – The belle of the ball

Known also by the many other names: Antilles pinktoe tarantula, the Martinique red tree spider, and of course the Martinique pinktoe, this furry arachnid can certainly make heads turn when entering a room. And honestly what breed of large spider wouldn’t? The Antilles pinktoe however, sports very unique coloring and markings that can make even the most arachnophobic folks gaze in awe at their beauty.  With red abdomens, green carapaces and legs with pink tarsi and lightly covered in voluptuous purple hair, they are a bit easier on the eyes than their less colorful and probably more bitter cousin, the less flashy (but still super exciting!), pinktoe tarantula.

These very docile, tree dwelling beauty queens did not just step off of the bus from some Katy Perry music video like one would assume. Instead, they hail from the Martinique and Dominica islands in the Carribean Sea, which is probably the closest thing anyways. The most aggressive aspect of this little guy’s lifestyle is it’s eating habits, being as it has to capture and kill it’s own food. Being pretty non-confrontational the rest of the time, they would sooner run and apologize (even if it’s not their fault), than stand up for itself and attack using its special and hued urticating hairs. Bites from these tarantulas are very rare and surprisingly not dangerous in the least. If you see one of these beauties out in the wild somewhere, don’t panic, and take the time to admire these gems! Just remember, there are always far worse, less dazzling, more venomous arachnida lurking out there.