Most people avoid spiders except perhaps as part of Halloween decorations. But for Zale Narkiewicz and his 3-year-old daughter, Summer, there is no bad time to give arachnids some love. That’s why there are tarantulas on Martha’s Vineyard — safely inside Zale Narkiewicz’s home. He is extremely eager to educate Islanders about the exotic arachnids. “The more people know, the harder it is for people to be afraid of them,” he told me on a recent visit to his home.
I was a bit hesitant walking in, so I cautiously approached the tarantula, Mystique, perched on Narkiewicz’s arm. My only previous experience with the giant spiders was in Arizona, when one scurried across the floor in my room at a dude ranch when I was a kid. Mystique, though, was sitting quite still.
Narkiewicz has had her since she was 6 weeks old, when she measured smaller than a penny. Mystique is now about 5 or 6 years old, and may live another 10 to 15 years. Narkiewicz’s first spider, which he got when he was about 8, lived for some two decades. “There is a difference between the lifespans for males and females,” he told me. “Typically, males live for about four or five years, whereas females, who are responsible for reproduction, can live 10 to 40 years, depending on the species.”
Mystique is a Caribena versicolor tarantula. Her front section (the cephalothorax, a combination of head and thorax) is a striking iridescent teal that shines against her predominantly black body. It complements her abdomen, which is an appealing burgundy. Like other Caribena versicolors, she has changed hues as she has grown. She was a metallic blue when Narkiewicz initially acquired her. She is also remarkably fuzzy. “She has hair like that in our inner ear, that is incredibly sensitive. She can pick up the vibrations through the air, which we call sound. If I talk in a deeper voice, she can ‘hear’ it. You can think of her like a walking ear,” Narkiewicz said.
Spiders have an exoskeleton, a rigid external covering made of chitin and protein. “This means they are pretty soft and gooey on the inside, but have a hard shell like a crab. When they grow, they split their shell and squeeze themselves out of it. As this happens, they can regrow body parts or heal from injuries,” he said.
Narkiewicz shared another interesting fact about the creatures he adores: “Spiders only have muscles to contract their legs, and none for limb extension. The way they extend them is hydraulically. Inside its body, it can precisely control the pressure of its blood. Thus, if they want to move their legs forward or lift them, they send blood to push them out.”
Throughout my visit, Mystique barely moved. “She’s completely content to stay absolutely still,” Narkiewicz said. “That’s how they conserve their energy. My oldest spider went for multiple months without eating. She could have gone for a year.” Mystique can, however, climb walls. Her feet, which look like foot pads, have a firm grip thanks to a multitude of tiny triangular hairs called setules. She has eyes, but doesn’t see well out of them. Instead, she reacts more to vibrations, not just with her hair, but through her web as well. “The web is like a string in the [play] phones made with tin cans. So they detect vibration exquisitely well,” Narkiewicz said. “Therefore, the spider has these super-senses to detect prey or predators.” Mystique’s diet consists of caterpillars, which Narkiewicz orders online, or large crickets he acquires from SBS the Grain Store.
Mystique is just one of Narkiewicz’s seven tarantulas. As a child, he originally wanted a scorpion. “But they have higher-potency venom. Every year, there are reported deaths. But in the history of humanity, there hasn’t been a single recorded death from a tarantula. Mystique is larger than most insects you would encounter, so from an evolutionary standpoint, she doesn’t need that much venom,” he said. Typically, larger spiders have less potent venom.
Summer has inherited her father’s adoration for spiders, delighting in having them crawl upon her. “When Summer was a baby, obviously, I would never let her handle a tarantula. But she will encounter spiders in her life, so as she got older, I showed her how to handle house spiders, and those in the environment. Once I saw that she could demonstrate good handling of the wild spiders, I slowly began introducing her to some of the pet ones, which she was excited about. I’m super-proud of Summer. She’s probably already better than 99 percent of adults, which makes me so happy,” he said.
Upon leaving, I had a newfound respect for Mystique and her kind. It’s hard not to be interested in these creatures while listening to Narkiewicz’s enthusiasm and wealth of information. “I have a real passion for spiders,” he emphasizes. “They are absolutely cool.”