Thousands of spider crabs have converged on the beaches of Cornwall due to rising sea temperatures caused by the climate crisis. The migratory creatures swarmed in the shallow water in St Ives, shedding their shells before returning to depths of up to 90 metres (300ft). The crustaceans are instantly recognisable for their long legs and […]
Tag: spider
That ‘killer’ spider story you read online? Fake news, most probably
The prevalence of political and scientific misinformation in the media is a hot-button topic these days, and rightfully so — it has serious negative consequences for society. Emerging research shows that not even the animal kingdom is safe from the dangers of misinformation: a new study has quantified the global spread of misinformation about spiders, […]
Spiders use their webs as “hearing aid” to sense incoming prey or predators
Orb-weaving spiders, according to a recent study, use their webs as extended auditory arrays to catch sounds, potentially providing them earlier warning of approaching prey or predators. Jonathan Cohen is the photographer for this image. Humans and most other vertebrate species hear through eardrums, which convert soundwave pressure into signals for our brains. But what […]
Hunter and Hunted – Judah
Whilst searching for scorpions we found a very small Black-sting Scorpion or possibly a Deathstalker in the ultraviolet torchlight. When we got closer a spider was in attendance and it became clear the scorpion was entangled in the spider’s web and was in fact already dead. It appears the spider had killed the scorpion or […]
Video: Watch the Incredible Migration of Thousands of Giant Spider Crabs in Australia
Australia is famous for its teeming, colorful biodiversity like sea turtles, giant clams, and coral, but it’s the Great Barrier Reef that often receives the most attention for its wildlife. Of course, other areas around Australia boast an incredible amount of unique wildlife, like the Ningaloo Marine Park along Australia’s West Coast, for example, that […]
Argiope lobata
This spider has a wide distribution encompassing the whole of Africa and stretching to southern Europe and into Asia. Without the legs, it reaches 25 to 30 mm in length. The female’s characteristic lobes distinguish her from other spiders of the araneidae family. The web is loose and the threads are very thin. I found […]
Face your fears: extreme creepy-crawly close-ups – in pictures
Wildlife photographer Yudy Sauw has captured close-ups of insects revealing their colourful and alien-like faces. In these images the insects have bulging eyes and sharp pincers and appear more grotesque than usual. Yudy photographed the bugs at his home studio in Banten, Indonesia, from 2-10cm away. This article was first published by The Guardian.
One lizard, four species: the collared treerunner
Now, that’s a horse of a different color. Or, in this case, a lizard of another species – four species. Recent research suggests that the collared treerunner (Plica plica), previously thought of as one widespread species, is actually four distinct species inhabiting diverse geographical areas east of the Andes in northern South America. “The four […]