From fear of spiders to fascination
It's early in the morning. The buzzer goes off, you switch on the light and immediately panic: a large spider sits on your bedroom wall!
Feb 14, 2019
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New species of spider discovered with unusual social skills
A researcher at Royal Holloway, University of London, has discovered a new species of spider in Indonesia.
Ancient spider fossils, surprisingly preserved in rock, reveal reflective eyes
Usually, soft-bodied species like spiders aren't fossilized in rock like animals with bones and teeth. More often, ancient spiders and insects are more likely to be discovered preserved in amber.
New tarantula species from Angola distinct with a one-of-a-kind 'horn' on its back
A new to science species of tarantula with a peculiar horn-like protuberance sticking out of its back was recently identified from Angola, a largely underexplored country located at the intersection of several Afrotropical ...
The widow next door: Where is the globally invasive noble false widow settling next?
Spiders are one of the most successful groups of 'invaders' on the planet. Out of over 47,000 species of spiders known today, there are some that tend to follow humans across the globe and settle in habitats far away from ...
DESY's X-ray source PETRA III reveals details of adhesive structures of spider legs
Hunting spiders easily climb vertical surfaces or move upside down on the ceiling. A thousand tiny hairs at the ends of their legs make sure they do not fall off. Like the spider's exoskeleton, these bristle-like hairs (so-called ...
The evolution of lethal fighting in a spider mite
While fighting over females is common among male animals in the wild, these fights rarely result in death. You can't pass on your genes when you're dead or badly injured. So why do the males in some colonies of the tiny spider ...
'Is this a brown recluse?' A year of looking at spiders
In 2017, a group of us decided to tackle the ever-present problem of spider misidentification by creating the Twitter account @RecluseOrNot. Focused mainly around the eponymous recluse spiders – particularly, but not limited ...
Broadening the biodiversity catalogue of spider populations in the Iberian Peninsula
The biodiversity catalogue of Iberian Peninsula spiders now includes a dozen new species from seven newly discovered families mainly found in soil, according to an article led by Professor Miquel Àngel Arnedo from the Faculty ...
Researchers verify that agricultural biodiversity is an effective tool to fight plagues
Researchers of the Ecophysiology and Biotechnology group of the Universitat Jaume I (UJI) in Castellón, Spain, have taken part in a study that reveals how agricultural biodiversity is an effective tool for combatting plagues ...
