Did you ever dance the tarantella, or see it being danced? Did you know this dance originated with a belief that people had about the tarantula? The tarantula is a large, fierce, hairy spider. In the Middle Ages it

was thought that people bitten by a tarantula became ill with “tarantism.” The patients were supposed to fall into a dull, unhappy state. The only way to stir people out of this state was with music, and they were supposed to dance until they were completely worn out and collapsed from exhaustion. After that they would become well.

From this belief a dance called the “tarantella” developed. It is a very lively Italian dance that gets faster and faster until the end. While the bite of the tarantula is fatal to insects and small animals, there is no evidence that it is poisonous to man. But the fear of the tarantula is still strong among the peoples where it is found.

True tarantulas are found only in southern Europe and are named after the city of Taranto in Italy. They have hairy bodies about three quarters of an inch long. Like some other spiders, they don’t spin webs. Instead, they dig deep burrows, which they line with silk. During the winter they shut themselves up in their houses with a silken door and hibernate until spring.

Tarantulas wait for their prey somewhat like tigers. They lie hidden among leaves or rubbish, or within their burrows. When an insect comes along, they rush out, bite it, and then drag it into their burrows. That bite either kills the insect or paralyzes it so it is helpless.

The spider then eats at its leisure. Tarantulas do not chew or swallow their victims. They suck out the blood and body juices. But when it comes to their own young, tarantulas are very considerate. They keep their cocoons in their houses, and carry them when they go out. When the young hatch, they ride around on the mother’s back for a week or so.