DENVER (KDVR) — The Butterfly Pavilion is stopping its decades-old meet and greets with Rosie the tarantula, a popular spider millions have held in their hands.

Rosie, the Chilean rose hair tarantula, is a staple at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster. Since 1995, she has been calmly crawling onto people's hands during meet and greets. In 2023, Sara Stevens, the director of animal collections, said that over 28 years, almost 3 million people have held her.

But after three decades of traveling and welcoming people to the invertebrate zoo, Rosie is "ready for a new chapter," the pavilion said. • WESTMINSTER, CO- AUGUST 13: Faith Gideon holds Rosie, one of the tarantulas at the Butterfly Pavilion, after waiting her turn in line in Westminster, Colorado, on August 13, 2025. Beginning Sep

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