Some gardens are entirely devoted to attracting wildlife. They tend to be filled with flowering plants, different types of berries and seeds, and native fruit-bearing trees. They often have cool features like small ponds, rock borders, and stumperies, all of which make great habitats for all sorts of animals. When we think about it, these […]
Tag: arachnids
3 Reasons a Snake in the Yard Might Be a Good Thing
Happening upon a snake in the yard can be a startling—to put it mildly—experience. Whether it’s an evolutionary instinct to jump back at the sight of a snake or another one of those ingrained cultural fears, a close encounter with the slithering kind usually shocks the system, even for those among us who admire the […]
Male Spiders Self-Sacrifice, Lose Genitals
If you think you have relationship problems, consider the male dark fishing spider, whose partner mutilates his genitalia and then eats him after mating. The male willingly sacrifices himself to ensure the health of his offspring,according to a study published recently in Biology Letters. The practice is called monogyny, and it’s relatively common among arachnids, […]
Two new arachnids discovered in Brazilian caves (photos)
Scientists have discovered two new species of short-tailed whipscorpions (in the order Schizomida) in limestone caves in Brazil, according to a new paper published in PLoS ONE. The new species—dubbed Rowlandius ubajara and Rowlandius potiguara—add new knowledge to a group of arachnids that is little known in South America outside of the Amazon. “Schizomids occur […]
Scientists discover two mini-spiders in China (photos)
Scientists have uncovered two miniature spiders living on mountains in China’s southern region, one of which is among the smallest spiders recorded worldwide, according to a new paper in ZooKeys. Both spiders belong to the Mysmenidae family, which is made up of mini-spiders with eight eyes. “Although the family Mysmenidae is distributed worldwide, it is […]