Exploding Cactus Full Of Spider Or Tarantula Eggs

Commentary

It hardly needs to be said that the tale is completely untrue. Most types of tarantula live in underground burrows while a few live in trees. However, there is no record of them building nests inside cactus plants. Furthermore, even if spider eggs were laid inside a plant, it certainly would not explode when the eggs hatched. And if the spider eggs did hatch inside the plant, spiders are carnivorous, not vegetarian, and the spiders would eat each other, instead of the cactus.

Another hoax about Tarantulas is that they are often portrayed as being extremely venomous. However, according The Natural History of Tarantula Spiders, Tarantula venom is not considered to be of medical importance to humans. Of the hundreds of reported cases of tarantula bites very few cause anything more serious than temporary local inflammation. Only certain very exotic tropical species are known to have bad tempers, most tarantulas are actually fairly docile and will only bite if mishandled.

Asking a Myth Spreader For More Details

When the person telling the story was told that it was found out to be a hoax, this person said that their son had found the true story on the internet, and actually knew what kind of spider it was. When I mentioned that I raise tarantulas and cactus, and this story didn't connect with my knowledge of either, this person admitted that maybe the author used some creative license, as if to say it was still OK to spread this false story.

I talked to the son, and he was sure it was some kind of South American bird eating tarantula. (Reality check: The bird eating tarantulas live in trees, no where near cactus...) When I asked if he would mind emailing me more information about the spider, or the variety of cactus, and that this didn't match my experience with studying spiders, he told me how it had to do with a spider activity called "ballooning". Yes, I told him, I knew about ballooning, it's a necessary way that spiders disperse themselves after hatching so that they don't get eaten by their cocoon mates. Realizing that what I was saying was very likely, he then back peddled and admitted that maybe it was some other kind of insect. Another insect that does ballooning? Perhaps a mite of some kind? Hmmm, that's a lot different than the threat from saucer sized spiders....

Other links

• Hoax about tarantula eggs growing inside a cactus - http://www.trendmicro.com/VINFO/hoaxes/hoaxDetails.asp?HName=Spider+Explodes+Out+of+Cactus+Hoax
• http://www.hoax-slayer.com/cactus-spider.html
• Google search: "exploding cactus"
• http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/horrors/a/cactus.htm
• Comments: "The Spider in the Yucca," as this tale was known early on, first popped up in Scandinavia during the 1970s. The southwestern decor fad breathed new life into the legend during the early 1990s, when it also became fashionable to peg Ikea stores as the source of the infested houseplants. In 1985 the cactus was supposedly bought from Marks & Spencer.
• Jan Harold Brunvand covered the legend extensively in his 1993 collection, The Baby Train.
• http://www.snopes.com/horrors/insects/cactus.asp
• Dr. Clifford S. Crawford, professor of biology at the University of New Mexico says that spiders might lay eggs on, or build webs on, cactus, but never inside. And other biologists point out that tarantulas usually live in ubrrows in the ground. No tarantulas or spiders are known to burrow into plants.
• About the closest we can come to this trip: Tarantulas are occassionalyl found in shipments of fruit in grocery stores. Most of the time, those spiders are near death, as the insecticides have already had their effect.
• The STACKER software variant.
• Exploding Cactus is the name of a band.