Spiderday (#27)

June 11, 2016 / Chris Buddle

I know, I know… it’s been too long since the last SPIDERDAY post! The end of term proved busy, but I’m trying to get back on track. So: here are some of the best arachnid-themed stories of the past couple of months. I hope you enjoy all the eight-legged greatness! Let’s start things off with a beautiful photo:

Zora hespera, photo by Sean McCann

The photo, above, is in this great post about “wolf-like” prowling spiders. It’s my read of the month.
Ballooning spiders and deep evolutionary branches
Unusual oral sexual encounters with Darwin’s Bark spiders.
Yay for peacock spiders! They help the media produce some positive stories about spiders.
Unfortunately, stories like this don’t help: SPIDERS ON A PLANE!!!
The Excavator Spider.
From Tasmania… Flooding rivers affect spiders: the evidence is all the silk from their ballooning.
On the importance of vision for the net-casting spider.
Ridiculously long spiders. That is all.
A lovely video about the amazing arachnologist, Norman Platnick.
Fascinating: how Tarantula venom might eventually help those who suffer from IBS.
Incredible product from spiders: How spider silk stays tense.
Just check out this amazing jumping spider art (here’s the Etsy shop):

Truly amazing Mites. More folks should study these arachnids.
Mite-look-a-likes: new species of Mite Harvest~~men~~persons from Australia
For the scorpion enthusiasts: new species from California.
What a great resource for the UK: illustrated key to British pseudoscorpions.
A great resource for Arachnophiles from western Canada.
The awesomeness of huntsman spiders.
Citizen science, spider style: Prince Edward Island is the winner
Venomous (southern) spiders hiding in a (northern) museum.
Snake pretends to be a spider, to catch a prey. Wow.
A Festschrift for Robert R Jackson. Great looking suite of papers.
Neat looking paper: how leaf-dwelling jumping spiders find their microhabitat (using visual cues)
Jumping spiders, getting flirty. Here’s the video:

Spiderday (#26)

April 9, 2016 / Chris Buddle / Leave a comment

Finally, SPIDERDAY is back! (Sorry about the delay – it’s been a busy term, so I’ve not been able to keep up on the blogging). Here are some Arachnid-themed stories pulled from the web over the past month or so:

Two of my favourite Arachnologists (Sean and Catherine) have been on a great SPIDER TRIP adventure! This is one of the species they stumbled across in Texas. Yes, it’s a brown recluse (photo by S. McCann). Check out more photos from their adventure, here.

Tiny spiders with amazing trap-jaws. Wow. This is my Read-View of the month.
From aquatic systems to spiders: mercury heads up the food chain.
Great photos of jumping spiders. It’s too bad the article title uses the word “Monsters”. These are not monsters.. they are beautiful animals.
Old goodies: a 305-million-year-old “almost” spiders is discovered and this is an important discovery. Here’s another take on that discovery.
Spider sex with a Nursery web spider.
Arachnophiles Rejoice! So many spiders in Australia!
Growing spider venom on yeast: no spider required.
More biotech related to spiders: spider toxin analogue may help relieve pain.
Orchid mantis and jumping spider: a neat video for you.
A spider named Brian takes centre-stage at a world science festival.
For taxonomy enthusiasts: SURPRISE! A new spider species – and its name reflects the surprise.
Don’t forget: some spiders are vegetarian.
In case you missed this… Spider Flan:

The natural history of a crab spider.
McGill Undergraduate student blogs bout bog spiders. #BlogTheBog
Boom: a new “Orange” peacock spider species, thanks to citizen science.
This is an amazing video of camel spiders mating (note: not actually spiders – these are Solifugae)
Mites never cease to amaze – here are ones that dwell on shrews.
Also from Heather Proctor: a less notorious bee mite
In the UK, there is a Pseudoscorpion Recording Scheme.
Keep an eye out for Ticks, folks – for many parts of the world, Lyme disease season has started.
Wonderful video of a common spider species. Great web-spinning!

Spiderday (#25) – February

February 27, 2016 / Chris Buddle / 2 Comments

It’s that time again! Spiderday – your monthly linkfest of all the best Arachnid stories from the past month. Let’s get started…

A wolf spider. This photo by Sean McCann related to some daydreaming I've been doing, about collecting spiders.

A wolf spider (genus Rabidosa). This photo by Sean McCann related to some daydreaming I’ve been doing, about collecting spiders.

This is my read and view of the month: Time to celebrate the diversity of Amblypygi, by Gil Wizen (inspired by this paper that described new species of these awesome arachnids)
A very good news for spider conservation: the Horrid ground-weaver has been found elsewhere, and photographed.
Some not-so-good news on spider conservation: the critically endangered peacock Tarantula
A day in the life of a spider lab. Yup. Lots of spider feeding to be done…
Here’s a very important paper for Arachnology, on the phylogenomics of spiders: notable is the ancient origin of the orb-web. Here’s a write-up on the story too (although the title is misleading…)
A study on Arachnophobia: “highly fearful participants overestimated the spider size“
A great guide to common house spiders in the UK (many of the species found in other parts of the world)
Spiders… long intertwined with art, culture and jewelry:

There was LOTS of press about this one: researchers looked into the taxonomy of Tarantulas in the USA, and one of the results is the “Johnny Cash” spider. Here’s another write-up from the BBC. Here’s the original paper.
More taxonomy: this female jumping spider has finally been described.
How to take a photo of a very venomous spider.
Um… spider kills snake?
It was “Darwin Day” earlier in February. Don’t forget, he observed and wrote about ballooning spiders.
A paper about zombie spiders
When your lover could just EAT YOU UP. A spidery Valentine’s day post.
Will your pets get bitten by spiders? What does science tell us about spider venom and our pets?
Wow: check out this Art by Thomas Shahan:

Ancient Arachnid erection enshrined in Amber. Yup. Gotta be an Opiliones!
Spiders that look like beetles. It’s true.
On the importance and conservation of the Georgia Basis bog spider. Wonderful piece.
Bad news: a new bacteria causing Lyme disease.
This certainly leads to the question: is it possible to love Ticks…?
Hee hee: a Valentine’s day message from Catherine Scott, spider style.
I’ll end with this very zen-like video of an Opiliones:

Spiderday (#24) – January

January 30, 2016 / Chris Buddle / 1 Comment

It’s SPIDERDAY! As promised, this feature on the blog will be a monthly occurrence, so here’s the round-up of the best Arachnid-themed links and stories from the past few weeks.

To start off, here’s a lovely image of a wolf spider, by Christy Pitto:

Spiders: a treasure-trove of scientific wonder. This one’s my Read Of The Month.
Just when you think jumping spider mating behaviour and courtship couldn’t get more fascinating… check this out: “Peek-a-boo paddle game”
DNA from spider web reveals the prey and the spider.
The amazing abstract working memory of jumping spiders.
Working with spiders. So many great reasons to learn about these arachnids.
Spider Conference! Spider Conference! The international congress of Arachnology – this summer, in Colorado – hope you are all going!
Winter spiders! And here’s a post about frozen spiders... and another about winter-active spiders (in your house)
Arrrrr you ready for it… new species of Pirate spiders.
Here’s a rare find.. apparently there are only two Ricinulei records on iNaturalist:

Enigmatic canopy-dwelling spiders that mimic wasps.
Scared of spiders? Get educations! A nice story about visiting a Tarantula exhibit.
Here is an important news report.
Mites have value in forensic entomology (um, rather, forensic arachnology perhaps?)
Huh? A leafcutting bee sharing a nest cavity with a wolf spider? Neat natural history that I’ve certainly not heard of before.
Hedgehog! (not what you think…) – the bug of the month in the UK is an arachnid: a rare Opiliones (Harvest~~men~~persons)
Gotta love this: new species of Opiliones – they are giant! And have suitable names!
Why are Opiliones (daddy-long-legs, Harvest~~men~~persons) sometimes called Shepherd Spiders? Here’s a clue (thanks to Matthew Cobb for this):

Mite-y annoying: Chiggers on rodents.
Ticks that transmit Lyme disease really are all over the place in the USA.
Neat looking paper: species diversity and venom complexity in scorpions (from Mexico)
There’s been a lot of press about the great paper on ‘indoor fauna’ – here’s a piece that highlights the pseudoscorpions.
A great piece about pseudoscorpions living with birds.
Here’s a great YouTube video with explanation of “bugs in homes”. Great example of effective science communication!

Spiderday (#23) – Happy Holidays

December 19, 2015December 19, 2015 / Chris Buddle / 3 Comments

SPIDERDAY is finally back – it’s been a few weeks, but the end of the term has been hectic. However, it’s time to catch up on some great Arachnid-themed links from the last little while.

This will also be my last post of 2015, so I’ll also take this opportunity to THANK YOU for reading and commenting on this blog. I also wish everyone a Happy Holidays! Arthropod Ecology will certainly keep on truckin’ in 2016.

Here’s looking at you… A close up of an Araneidae, from Insects Unlocked.

Here’s a post on an often-overlooked family of spiders: The Oecobiidae, aka “star-legged spiders”
Colour shifts in spiders. Fascinating biology!
Cobwebs and their genetic secrets: this research is quite exciting, and has many potential applications in the future.
The faces of Peruvian Amazon spider families. Photos are breathtaking, and you get to see great variation in form and function, too.
Multi-modal communication in peacock spiders.
Speaking of jumping spiders: what a resource! 27,000 images of Salticidae
A phylogenetic classification for the Salticidae: an important paper
This is outstanding: a very old book has a very old spider squashed between its pages (and you can tell the species, too)
From back in November, how spider personalities affect pest control.
Blue tarantulas. That is all.
An interesting looking paper on mercury accumulation in arthropods, including spiders.
Big spider webs. Yup, they sure are big. Super-big.
Discover your inner Arachnid: what spider are you?
Hunting Britain’s largest spiders
To kill a wolf spider: the natural history of wasp and their spider prey.
On that theme, here’s an interesting video... perhaps a bit gruesome

Wonderful post on the natural history and biology of pseudoscorpions and harlequin beetles. Easily my Read Of The Week!
Also on pseudoscorpions, I collaborated with thermal biologists to look at what happens when you heat up, cool down, and try to drown Arctic pseudoscorpions.
Mites on our faces. Excellent coverage of excellent science.
A bird-feeding tick and the implications for Lyme disease
Australia has all kinds of amazing arachnids, including scorpions.
On the evolution of weaponry in Arachnids. Great post that includes one of my favorite groups, the Opiliones.
Spitting spiders can REALLY spit their silk.
I was part of a “Secret Santa” (we called in Secret Pisaurid, to give it an arachnid theme!). My gift was incredible “SPIDER CARDS”. Wow. I’m in awe. Thanks so much to my secret pisaurid. Happy Holidays everyone!

Collectors cards, Arachnid style.

Spiderday (#22)

November 21, 2015November 21, 2015 / Chris Buddle / 1 Comment

It’s been a couple of weeks, but nevertheless, here is another edition of SPIDERDAY! All the best Arachnid-themed links, pulled from the web in the last little while.

Just look at this Jumping spider keeping an eye on her babies! Photo by Nick Porch (reproduced here with permission)

Myth-busting time: do we really swallow spiders when we sleep? (spoiler: NO)
Yay! Rod Crawford’s “Spider Myth” page has been revamped.
Origami spiders. That is all.
Talk about an overreaction: an “infestation” of false widow spiders force school closures in the UK. Sigh.
A video about how spider webs could inspire sticker glues.
Undergraduate students in my field biology class wrote a blog post about spiders.
Ant-mimicking jumping spiders are too amazing for words, so here’s a photo:

Wasps that parasitize spider eggs. Yup, it happens all the time.
Catch that prey – Do it! Do it! A GIF that says it all.
For those keen on spider taxonomy, here’s a paper about rethinking a family placement for a spider species. I love this line from the paper “We came across a jar…”
A preprint that is of significant interest to many: Spider phylogenomics: untangling the spider tree of life.
A spider-themed sculpture makes a new record at auction. That’s something I could not afford!
I simply adore this Arachnid-themed comic! Gotta love pseudoscorpions.

Speaking of pseudoscorpions, here’s a story about some that hitch rides on bats. That’s incredible natural history! This is my Read Of The Week.
A wonderful story about an Opiliones (~~Harvestmen~~ Harvestperson) with a very suitable name (hint: think about the secretive cave-dwelling character in the Lord of the Rings)
Terrific photo of an oribatid mite.
Here’s an amazing 3D drawing of a spider (and how to do it). Wow.

Spiderday (#21)

November 7, 2015November 7, 2015 / Chris Buddle / 1 Comment

Spiderday! Here’s some Arachnid-themed links I stumbled across over the past week.

Green Lynx spider eating Green Lynx spider. By Nash Turley

A story about a spider that destroys female genitalia to prevent future mating. My Read Of The Week.
I love this – a construction project halted because of potential cave spiders.
Some bioinspiration, spider-style: A North Face parka made from synthetic spider silk.
Worth a listen (and look): an Arachnid Orchestra.
Check out those ants. No, wait… one of them is a little different than the others…. SPIDERS! Myrmecophilic spiders!
Two new jumping spider species. And not just any species.. but “horned” species.

Fish-eating spiders. Oh, yeah!

Trying really hard to get a false widow spider to bite. Good luck.
Don’t love this story… but an interesting study nevertheless: pesticide effects on brown widow egg cases.
Here’s a really interesting article on the Phylogeography of “Subterranean Alpine” Spiders. Spiders spin steely silken spleandour.
Here’s another fantastic article: weapon trimorphism in Opiliones.
A wonderful series of images of mites.
Amblypygids are awesome. Really, they are.
A great video on the biology and courtship of the Peacock spider:

Spiderday (#20)

October 31, 2015October 31, 2015 / Chris Buddle / 1 Comment

What a great day. It’s Halloween AND spiderday. On the same day. And it’s the 20th edition of spiderday. It just doesn’t get any better. Here are the arachnid-themed stories I pulled from the web over the past week.

But first… just LOOK AT THIS amazing little spider:

A mystery 'tube spider' by Daniel Llavaneras.

A ‘tube spider’ (genus Dipoena) by Daniel Llavaneras.

A post for Halloween… Spiders: how spooky are they?
And here is the BEST spider-themed Halloween costume out there.
What should you do if you are bitten by a spider? Here’s a terrific post, with Australian focus, on the topic. It’s my read of the week.
Catherine Scott live-tweeted some spider sex. It was very popular – so much so that the national news in Canada picked it up. Well done, Catherine!
Arrrr you ready for the next post… PIRATE SPIDERS! Avast!
Good glue: spider silk and bioinspiration for material science.
Mites like to hitch rides on animals. Here’s a post on that topic. “Is that a Wombat on your belly…?“
Yikes: some itchy oak mites are showing up in parts of the USA.
Spiders feed birds:

I’m sad that Arachtober is over. Africa Gomez had amazing posts all month. Here’s one on a relatively unknown family of ant-mimics: the Zodariidae
Do brown recluse spider reign by terror?
Entomologist Matt Bertone does a nice piece on North Carolina Television… “some nice spiders” he says. Indeed!
Pseudoscorpions + birds: a novel symbiosis between weaver birds and pseudoscorpions in southern Africa
Here’s something on spiders from forest reserves in India.
For taxonomists, a new species of Tarantula from Columbia!
Here’s a introductory poster from “Ontario Nature” all about spiders: you don’t need to spray pesticides against them!
There’s a spider emoji now.
What to expect when your cellar spider is expecting.
Thousands of spiders take over a bridge in Ohio. A video full of enthusiasm and natural history:

Spiderday (#19)

October 24, 2015October 24, 2015 / Chris Buddle / Leave a comment

It’s been a few weeks since the last SPIDERDAY (sorry…). Here’s another edition of this feature, with links to some of my favourite stories about Arachnids. It was easy to pull this together this month, since it’s Arachtober.

This is a lovely spider species in the family Titanoecidae. (Photo by Sean McCann)

Here is a post that gives a nice history of Arachtober, and to further celebrate, here’s a wonderful gallery of beautiful spiders.
Speaking of gorgeous spiders… check these out. They are: Epicadus heterogaster
Spiders in your bananas? Don’t panic. Stay calm. This is my read of the week.
Found a venomous spider in Australia? There’s a drop-off centre for that.
Africa Gomez has been *very* busy this month, doing new spider posts every day. For example, check out this lovely post about pirate spiders. Arrrrrrrrr!!!
Um, why did the Tarantula cross the road?
Worried that a wood-louse hunter might bite you? It might take a while for that to happen, even when you try really, really hard.
Ever wonder what a spider collection looks like at a research collection? Here you go:

A GIF of a funnel-web spider strike.
For the taxonomists among us: Here is a revised and dated phylogeny of cobweb spiders.
Nature’s spectacular patterns, spider style.
More stunning photos from Nicky Bay: this time it’s Peruvian ‘roly-poly’ orbweavers
Extreme cephalothorax modifications in Linyphiid spiders (genus Walkenaeria)
Added to the life list: I got to travel to Arkansas earlier in the month, and we able to see a spider I’ve never seen before, Ctenus exlineae:

Ctenus exlineae

Like mites? You might really, really like this post about Brazilian feather-mites.
Boom: new Mite family in New Zealand.
Solifugids sometimes have a bad reputation. However, they can be cuddly teddy bears of the desert.
Here’s another post about these incredible Arachnids… “death wrapped in mystery”
Arachnids fight it out: the secretions from the Opiliones (Harvest~~men~~persons) aren’t enough against scorpion, this paper shows.
Yes, you will notice I wrote Harvestpersons. Here’s what happens when you poke Harvestpersons, and why we should call them Harvestpersons.
tap-tap-tap. Here’s a neat little short film showing some courtship with Araneus diadematus:
I love this video: Spiders… the first web developers:

Spiderday (#18)

September 26, 2015September 26, 2015 / Chris Buddle / 1 Comment

Whoop! Three cheers for SPIDERDAY (or would it be more apt to say “eight cheers”?. All the arachnid links from the past week, in one place.

Meet your dock spiders. Photo by Sean McCann.

My Read Of The Week was an easy one – this post on Spider Assassins (Family Archaeidae) contains incredible photos and natural history.
Good news: the hobo spider is no longer on the ‘venomous animals’ list from the CDC. It’s about time!
Spiders – a guide for first year students. Say calm, folks, stay calm.
A crab spider eats a hoverfly. A wasp comes along. See what happens…
Here is a well-done illustrated guide to nine common spider species (and webs) occuring in households in the UK.
Spiders on a plane! A roaming tarantula plays havoc with a Delta flight.
Meet Singapore’s very own spider ambassador.
In my own home, this week, Shelob met some hobbits (and Gollum too)
Do you ever freak out when running into a spider web? Here’s a fun little conversation on the topic:

On the more serious side, the Heartland virus (carried by ticks) may occur across the eastern USA.
Have a tick and need to remove it? Here’s some info for you.
Lyme disease update: Ticks carrying the lyme bacterium have been found in parks in south London (UK).
Ticks get a bad name. On the lighter side of Ticks, there’s the comic-book series to consider…?
An older finding on fossil Opiliones (Harvestmen) with a second set of eyes.
There is often a lot of confusion around the common name “Daddy-long-legs” (in the Arachnid sense, this refers to Opiliones [Harvestmen] or sometimes cellar-spiders). Here’s an image that should help:

Um, but it should be ‘Harvestperson’ not ‘Harvestmen’.