Speaking of Spidey spinoffs

SINCE that fateful day some 45 years ago when a radioactive spider first bit a bespectacled Peter Parker, spiders have become an inextricable part of comic book lore.

With that in mind -- not to mention the much-anticipated opening of the third Spider-Man movie -- the Los Angeles Zoo is literally and figuratively taking a page from the comics for its newest exhibit, “Spider City.”

The exhibit, which opens today, includes more than 26 species of spiders from all over the world, ranging from the dime-size jumping spiders (Phidippus sp.) to the aptly named Goliath bird-eating tarantula (Theraphosa blondi). And for film buffs, the exhibit also features the false widow (Steatoda grossa), the spider that endowed Peter Parker with his superpowers in the first Spider-Man movie.

Speaking of Spidey, although there has been a fair amount of cross promotion with the film (Spider-Man himself will be appearing throughout the opening weekend to meet and greet visitors), images of ol’ webhead are conspicuously absent from the exhibit, located in the former koala house. “We wanted something that was cool and different that would complement the movie, not replicate it,” says Kirsten Perez, the zoo’s director of education.

To that end, the zoo has eschewed the typical sterile science center-type display for an immersive experience meant to give visitors the feeling of stepping into a comic book.

After walking through a darkened corridor with blow-ups of mock comic book covers lining the walls, visitors are brought into a replica city where the sole inhabitants are spiders. There, by observing the insects and reading about them on displays laid out like comic book pages, they’ll decide for themselves whether they’re “heroes” or “villains.”

To help facilitate that decision, the exhibit is divided into thematic categories including “Natural History,” which explores the traits that all spiders share; “Habitat,” where they live; and continuing the comic book theme, “Spider Super Powers,” which looks at spiders’ defense tactics and hunting techniques.

“By picking up vibration through their hairs, some spiders are so in tune with what’s going on around them that they almost have precognition,” Perez notes. “So as it turns out, that spider sense thing that Spider-Man has? That’s a reality -- it’s how these little guys survive.”

Beyond the glitz and glam of the comic book graphics and the movie tie-ins, the real stars of the exhibit are the spiders themselves, which were selected by the zoo’s curator of reptiles, Russ Smith.

“What I wanted to do was emphasize big, because those are the spiders that people can see easily,” says Smith, who was able to devote time to the new exhibit since the reptile house has been temporarily retired to make way for the new elephant habitat. “And while big is neat, big and colorful is twice as good.”

In addition to the Goliath bird-eating tarantula, which boasts a leg span of as much as 12 inches, highlights include the Antilles pinktoe tarantula (Avicularia versicolor), with its deep red abdomen; the cobalt blue tarantula (Haplopelma lividum), a green tarantula with bright blue legs; and the Venezuelan red stripe tarantula (Avicularia minatrix), a bright red specimen with tiger striping.

Also represented in the exhibit are “LA Locals,” spiders that call Southern California home, which includes two of the more dangerous varieties: the infamous black widow (Latrodectus mactans) and the violin spider (Loxosceles unicolor), the lesser-known cousin of the brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa).

Suffice it to say, there are a lot of spiders on planet Earth. According to the L.A. Zoo website, no matter where you are in the world, you’re always within 3 feet of a spider -- even in a city as big as L.A. (hey, they’re kind of like Starbucks!). And although many of them have venom, most bites are generally no more painful than a bee sting. “Whenever people get bitten by something, they assume it’s a spider. In reality, very few can break human skin,” says Smith. “Spiders get a bad rap.”

In fact, they make our lives a whole lot nicer by eating a tremendous amount of pests such as mosquitoes and biting flies (for their effort, they in turn are fed on by birds, reptiles and other animals).

“Spiders might not be as cute as other critters but they hold a unique spot in the food chain,” Smith says. “After going through the exhibit, hopefully the next time [visitors] see a spider in the bathtub, they’ll gently pick him up and take him outside rather than just ‘Whack!’ ”

weekend@latimes.com

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‘Spider City: The Good, the Bad and the Fuzzy’

Where: Los Angeles Zoo, 5333 Zoo Drive, Griffith Park, L.A.

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily

Price: Zoo admission is $10; children ages 2 to 12, $5

Info: (323) 644-4200, www.lazoo.org