Thousands of tarantulas take part in 'spider Crufts'
- Published
If you're squeamish look away now! More than 50,000 tarantulas have taken part in an event that has become known as the 'Crufts of the spider world'. It was organised by the British Tarantula Society and was held in Coventry. This furry critter is named Sericopelma better known as 'Santa Catlina' for short and it won the Best New World Terrestrial award.
'Spider Crufts' had lots of varied categories with over 2000 visitors attending. This spider, named Acanthoscurria geniculata, came runner up in the category for Best New World Terrestrial.
More than 800 different types of tarantula were presented. Judges inspected the health of the spider and assessed their hair. Psalmopoeus pulchra as it's known was the winner of Best New World Arboreal award.
Monocentropus balfouri won Best African and the Best in Show award - the most prestigious award at the event.
Ray Hale the organiser said: "It started out as a bit of fun 29 years ago and now it attracts thousands and has become a serious competition".
Scorpions and other creatures attended too - this huge scorpion named the Hadogenes troglodytes won the Best Scorpion award.