Spider lovers scurry to Colorado town in search of mating tarantulas and community
Associated Press
1 / 18
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)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)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., 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)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 tourist looks for tarantulas on the plains near 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)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 male tarantula looks for a mate on the plains near La Junta, Colo., 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)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 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)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)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)