Mystery of how black widow spiders create steel-strength silk webs further unravelled. sciencedaily.com. October 22, 2018. ‘Modified micelle theory’ may allow scientists to create equally strong synthetic materials. Summary: Researchers have better unraveled the complex process of how black widow spiders transform proteins into steel-strength fibers. This knowledge promises to aid scientists in creating equally […]

Male mate choice in a sexually cannibalistic widow spider. By Shevy Waner, Uzi Motro, Yael Lubin, Ally R.Harari. AbstractMales of the brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus (Theridiidae), invest energy in courtship displays and are often cannibalized after mating; accordingly, partial sex role reversal is expected. In this species, subadult females are able to mate and […]

World’s most venomous spiders are actually cousins. sciencedaily.com. February 15, 2018. Study finds the deadly Australian funnel-web spiders and mouse spiders are more closely related than previously thought. Two lineages of dangerous arachnids found in Australia — long classified as distantly related in the official taxonomy — are, in fact, relatively close evolutionary cousins. The […]

A hair’s breadth away: New tarantula species and genus honors Gabriel García Márquez. sciencedaily.com. June 29, 2016. Summary: Thanks to its extraordinary defensive hairs, a Colombian tarantula proved itself as not only a new species, but also as a new genus. Its genus’ name honors an indigenous people from the Caribbean coast region, while its species’ name […]

New species of spider discovered ‘next door’ at the the borders of cereal fields in Spain. sciencedaily.com. June 29, 2016. Summary: While many think that it is necessary to travel to far off pristine tropical forests to discover new species, the truth is that the Old World still keeps surprises up its sleeve. A new […]

Toxicological trivia from June 10, 2016: in the previous trivia (# 335) we mentioned that the vespid (Vespidae) are a family of Hymenoptera which includes nearly all the known eusocial wasps and many solitary wasps. A tarantula hawk is a spider wasp which hunts tarantulas. Tarantula hawks belong to any of the many species in […]

More than bugs: Spiders also like an occasional vegetarian meal. sciencedaily.com. March 14, 2016. Summary:Spiders are known to be the classic example of insectivorous predators. Zoologists have now been able to show that their diet is more diverse than expected. Their findings show that spiders like to spice up their menu with the occasional vegetarian […]

Black widow spiders are color-coded to deter predators without tipping off prey. sciencedaily.com. February 29, 2016.Summary:Secret codes and hidden messages aren’t just for computer security experts or kids passing notes in class — animals use them too. The telltale red hourglass of the black widow spider appears brighter and more contrasting to birds than to […]

Meet the spiders that have formed armies 50,000 strong. By Jason G. Goldman. bbcnews.January 22, 2016. It is like a scene from a horror film: spider webs several metres wide that are home to thousands of spiders. Why did these spiders turn social? Eight legs, eight eyes and a pair of venomous fangs – the […]

Spiders quickly learn eavesdropping to gain ground on the mating competition. sciencedaily.com. August 04, 2015. Summary: When it comes to courting, one common spider species is quick to learn, and that learning process involves eavesdropping on the visual cues of rivals to win their mate. Scientists report that when wolf spiders were shown videos of […]

Toxicological trivia from july 15, 2015: More than 50,000 species of spiders, of which about 800 are found in Argentina are known. Most of them go unnoticed by the man for its small size and customs; but sometimes they are notable for their webs. Of the following statements …Spider webs fiber is stronger than steel.It […]

Seafaring spiders depend on their ‘sails’ and ‘anchors’. sciencedaily.com. July 03, 2015. Spiders travel across water like ships, using their legs as sails and their silk as an anchor. Spiders travel across water like ships, using their legs as sails and their silk as an anchor, according to research published in the open access journal […]

Physicians seeing increase in brown recluse spider bites. sciencedaily.com. July 23, 2014.Summary: Medical toxicologists are reporting an increase in patients seen with brown recluse spider bites this summer. There are two components to spider bites — the cutaneous lesion and, more rarely, the systemic symptoms that can occur following the bite.Vanderbilt medical toxicologists are reporting […]

Toxicological Trivia from July 24, 2014:  in Sertox  the color of a  latrodectus copy was brown. It was light brown, globular abdomen with velvety look and a typical figure in the form of red hourglass on the abdomen (see image). We found then that young pups Latrodectus mactans are orange, brown and white; acquire their […]

David and Goliath: How a tiny spider catches much larger prey. sciencedaily.com. June 12, 2014. Summary: In nature, it is very rare to find a proverbial much smaller David able to overpower and kill a Goliath for supper. This is exactly the modus operandi of a solitary tiny spider from the Negev desert in Israel […]

Spiders understand “music” of their own web.world-science.net. June 05, 2014.Courtesy of Oxford University and World Science staff. The sound of a spider web, plucked like a guitar string, provides its inhabitants with information about prey, mates, and even web’s structural condition, scientists have found. The spiders use that quality by “tuning” the silk, they say: […]

Could spiders be the key to saving our bees?  sciencedaily.com. June 3, 2014.Summary:A novel bio-pesticide created using spider venom and a plant protein has been found to be safe for honeybees – despite being highly toxic to a number of key insect pests. New research has tested the insect-specific Hv1a/GNA fusion protein bio-pesticide — a […]

Black Widows Infest Grapes: Poisonous Spiders Found Crawling In Fruit In Several States. By Lecia Bushak. medicaldaily.com.  November 23, 2013.  Yvonne Duckhorn was walking through the aisles of Aldi grocery store in Milwaukee when she saw a black spider with red markings crawling in a container of red grapes. The spider was a black widow […]

2 new enigmatic spider species with peculiar living habits from Uruguay. eurekalert.org. October 04, 2013. The two new species described from Uruguay, Chaco castanea and Chaco costai, are middle sized spiders that range between 1 and 2 cm in body size. Like all Nemesiids they have elongated body and robust legs with predominantly black-brownish coloration. […]