Pink-toed Tarantula

Avicularia avicularia

Range

• Northern South America, including Venezuela, northern Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname

Habitat

• Tropical forests

Diet

•  Crickets
• Wax moths
• Grasshoppers
• Roaches
• Small tree frogs

As it matures, the pink-bodied and dark-toed juvenile reverses its colors into a dark body with namesake pink toes.

Its hunting style is sit-and-wait, remaining motionless in a trance-like state until prey is close. Should a predator investigate whether the tarantula itself would be good to eat, the spider kicks urticating (i.e. sharp, stinging) bristles off its own abdomen, irritating the predator’s eyes and airways.