As the name suggests, the Mexican Red Kneed Tarantula  (Brachypelma smithi) comes from Mexico where it occurs in deep burrows along the Pacific coast from Colima State to Oaxaca State. This tarantula has been a favourite with amateur arachnologists for many years due to its docile nature and bright colouring. Prior to 1985, this beautiful spider was collected by the thousand to supply the pet trade.

It was feared that such collecting posed a threat to the species and consequently that year further importation was banned under the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). However there should be no difficulty in obtaining young specimens as it can be bred very successfully in captivity. Females produce several hundred eggs that they lay on a bed of silk, when finished laying the female draws the sides together and rolls the eggs into a neat ball, called an egg sac.

The female tarantula will protect her eggs for three months by carrying the egg sac with her fangs assisted by the pedipalps. After a month the eggs develop short limbs and after the first moult the tiny creatures begin to look like immature spiders - white with yellowish legs. After a further moult their legs are slightly longer and the spiderlings become more mobile, and the egg sac swells as the baby spiders grow.

Eventually one of them makes a small hole in the egg sac and the baby spiders pour out and cluster around the empty egg sac. After a week to ten days the baby spiders turn black and moult once again. They are now fully developed and when their skins have hardened they disperse, living a solitary existence preying on small insects. As they grow they are able to catch and eat larger prey.

The Mexican Red Kneed Tarantula matures in captivity after five years and will go on to live for anything over fifteen years. They are undemanding to keep and feed on a variety of insects such as, crickets, locusts, mealworms and even fly maggots. There are several other species of tarantula that are also very suitable to keep in captivity, but be cautious when buying them as some can be very aggressive and inflict severe bites.

For the beginner, all species of Brachypelma  are suitable to keep, along with the Chilean Rose Tarantula (Grammostola spatulata) and the Chilean Beautiful (G.cala). When threatened, New World tarantulas protect themselves by flicking clouds of minute urticating hairs from the top of their abdomen. These have short barbs on them that penetrate the skin, causing a rash. They also cause discomfort if they come in contact with sensitive areas of the body such as eyes or nostrils. However, there are no long term affects from these hairs.