How do tarantulas eat their prey?

Tarantulas are hairy massive spiders that have a rather intimidating public image. Once you are aware of exactly how tarantulas consume their prey, you may understand all of the hype. The carnivorous creatures use their venom as a means of securing prey for upcoming yummy meals. read more

Depending on their size, tarantulas eat insects or even larger prey, such as frogs, mice, and birds. They eat all kinds of insects, especially larger ones like crickets and grasshoppers, June beetles, cicadas, millipedes, caterpillars and other spiders. Larger tarantulas will also eat frogs, toads, small rodents, lizards, bats and small snakes. read more

Nearly all spiders subdue their prey by injecting venom through their fangs, which operate much like a pair of hypodermic needles. Besides the paralytic action of the venom compounds, the spider regurgitates digestive fluids onto the prey to digest it, working more or less like a meat tenderizer. read more