Rosie the Tarantula, star of Butterfly Pavilion, retires from meet and greets

If you’ve been in Colorado for even a short amount of time, you likely know of Rosie the Tarantula, the spider you can hold at Westminster’s Butterfly Pavilion. After three decades, it’s time for Rosie to retire…

Rosie, who has introduced millions of guests to the world of invertebrates since she arrived at the Butterfly Pavilion in 1995, will still be on display at the popular attraction, but instead on in your hand, she’ll now be behind glass.

Starting Sept. 7, the famous Chilean Rose Hair tarantulas at the Butterfly Pavilion will no longer do the “meet-and-greets” that have happened for 30 years.

There was no singular “Rosie,” roughly 120 tarantulas have played the iconic role before retiring and being swapped out.

Multiple factors including costs and difficulty finding and keeping the right spiders played a role in the decision that’s been discussed for a couple of years now.

Guests are invited to visit Rosie in her new exhibit starting Sept. 8 and celebrate their favorite Rosie memories online using #ThanksRosie.