Missouri tarantulas are fascinating inhabitants of glades in our state, although they are often unfairly feared or illegally collected or disturbed. Tarantulas are impressively long-lived for an invertebrate. They do not reach breeding maturity until 8 years old, and females can live to be over 20 years old. We have a lot to learn about how to conserve this important and charismatic species. Do they migrate? Do they move burrows? How stressed do they get when human visitors flip rocks? MDC’s par