Spiders Enjoy Vegetarian Meals Occasionally
Spiders have always been known to feed on insects, but zoologists from the University of Basel, the US, and the UK have now been able to show that their diet […]
Ten New Spider Species Found in Madagascar
An international team of researchers has discovered ten new spider species in Madagascar. All ten belong to the genus Anelosimus, which is in the family Theridiidae. The names of some […]
Arachnid Matriphagy: These Spider Mothers Literally Die for Their Young
These suicidal spider moms let their babies eat them alive.
Spider Bites Highly Unlikely to Cause Bacterial Infections, Study Finds
Last year, spider expert Richard S. Vetter, a former staff research associate at the University of California, Riverside, debunked the myth that venomous spiders are commonly found in bananas and […]
New Study Provides Key to Identifying Spiders in International Cargo
Spiders found in international cargo brought into North America are sometimes submitted to arachnologists for identification. Often, these spiders are presumed to be of medical importance because of their size […]
Genetic Study Shows Orb-Weaver Spiders do not Share Common Origins
For decades, the story of spider evolution went like this: Over time spider diversity increased and some evolved new hunting strategies, including the ability to weave orb-shaped webs to trap […]
Spiders that Prey on Fish Twice their Size are Found Worldwide
Spiders from five different families prey on small fish in the wild, according to a systematic review recently published in the journal PLOS ONE. Spiders are known to prey on […]
Black Widow Spider Males Prefer Well-fed Virgin Females
New research published in the journal Animal Behaviour shows that male black widow spiders prefer their female mates to be well-fed virgins — a rare example of mate preference by […]
Five News Species of Armored Spiders Discovered in Chinese Caves
Armored spiders are medium to small species that derive their name from the complex pattern of the plates covering their abdomens, which strongly resembles body armor. Recently scientists have discovered […]
Orb-weaving Spiders use Webs to Trap Pollen in Addition to Insects
It looks like spiders may not be the pure predators we generally believe them to be. Dr Dirk Sanders of the University of Exeter has demonstrated that orb web spiders […]
Two New Hard-to-Find, Burrowing Spiders Discovered in Uruguay
Two new spider species from Uruguay, Chaco castanea and Chaco costai, were recently described in the journal Zookeys. Both are middle-sized spiders that range between 1 and 2 cm in […]
Baby Spiders are Flying Across Northern Texas
Recent news reports have been surfacing about silky strings floating through the air of northern Texas. As it turns out, the strings are the products of young, migrating spiders that […]