After various trips and adventures, regular editions of Expiscor are back… Here are some discoveries from the past week! Hope you enjoy…
- The amazing dance of the peacock spider, by Douglas Main. Just awesome.
- Some stunning spider photos by Sean McCann about a recent field trip to a site in which widow spiders are ‘super-abundant’. And what do you know, they didn’t get bitten…!
- Seems that everything gets parasitized, even pseudoscorpions. Laura Timms pointed me to this paper which mentions that fact.
- Opiliones (Harvestmen) can learn to associate a chemical stimulus with shelter. Smart little beasts!
- Jumping caterpillars! WHAT! It’s true… a great read over at ROM Biodiversity, by Chris Darling. Those little suckers have arms, too.
- Beetles are great –here’s a post about an interesting, flightless one. Check out the quote at the start:
- Lovely lights: Long exposure shots of fireflies.
- That’s Biodiversity! 100 tiny predatory beetle species discovered in Tahiti.
- Speaking of discovering biodiversity, why do mammal discoveries get so much press? Some good thoughts on that topic from Morgan Jackson.
- Here’s a shot of doing Entomology on the tundra. Entomology Yoga, anyone?
#EntoYoga (photo by J. Wagner)
- Speeding towards birds… in a car… for science. Great read by Ed Yong.
- We need interdisciplinary research to solve complex environmental problems. Here are survey results to confirm that.
- All thumbs. Terrific post by Malcolm Campbell.
- For Academics (and those planning on being one…): It doesn’t get any easier. Sigh. That’s the truth (but it stays really, really fun!)
- Another worthy read for Academics “…Feeling boxed in?” – by Sarah Boon.
- Scientists work weird hours – an interesting read that focuses on when manuscripts get submitted. Spoiler: it’s often on weekends.
- Tweet of the week goes to Joshua Drew. Darn good advice!
- There was some discussion on Twitter about whether or not to write in the 1st person. The Lab & Field pointed out that Francis Bacon may have been responsible for the movement to avoid it in scientific writing…
- A+ for Canadians: Why Canadian students are among the globe’s smartest.
- Interested in Arctic exploration? The hashtag #Franklin2013 is just for you. You can also follow Parks Canada Archaeology for updates on their search for Franklin’s lost ships.
- Dr. Who fans: did you know you can go IN the TARDIS? (thanks CBC Radio 2 Shift, for that link)
- Snail trails. What a neat (and important) story. Here’s the video (check out at 3:08):
Arthropod Ecology 