All posts tagged: Spiders

Spiders In The House Released Outside Probably Won’t Survive

Spiders In The House Released Outside Probably Won’t Survive

Published by Jenni Sidey

Some of us choose to perform the kind act of moving spiders found inside the house to the outside in order to save them. Using a cup or piece of paper, we tenderly transfer the eight-legged critter from our bedroom out to the backyard.  You may think, “Why kill them? They’re not doing anything wrong.” While this is highly empathetic, the relocation may not be as beneficial as we believe. The reality of the situation is that these arachnids are actually indoor spiders, meaning that their survival rate outside is very low.  The spiders found within your home are ‘indoor spiders,’ and have a low probability of surviving outdoors. While you may think you’re doing the arachnid a service, the outdoors are harmful for indoor spiders. According to an arachnologist, if you relocate an indoor spider to the outside, it is likely that it will die. The key distinction is that these spiders are specifically indoor spiders and not just spiders found in the home; a large portion of the spider population within a home …

Intricate loops of silk help net-casting spiders trap prey in webs

Intricate loops of silk help net-casting spiders trap prey in webs

Published by skeptic

core: Something — usually round-shaped — in the center of an object. fiber: Something whose shape resembles a thread or filament. gland: A cell, a group of cells or an organ that produces and discharges a substance (or “secretion”) for use elsewhere in the body or in a body cavity, or for elimination from the body. insect: A type of arthropod that as an adult will have six segmented legs and three body parts: a head, thorax and abdomen. There are hundreds of thousands of insects, which include bees, beetles, flies and moths. microscope: An instrument used to view objects — such as bacteria or the single cells of plants or animals — that are too small to be visible to the unaided eye. prey: (n.) An organism hunted by another, often for food. (v.) To attack and eat another organism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: A prestigious journal publishing original scientific research, begun in 1914. The journal’s content spans the biological, physical and social sciences. Each of the more than 3,000 papers …

Psychologists made people look at spiders. They didn’t like it.

Psychologists made people look at spiders. They didn’t like it.

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. There are plenty of studies examining why humans are so hardwired to detest spiders. However, fewer researchers have spent time investigating just how far we’ll go to avoid even looking at them.At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, psychologists decided to find out for themselves. Their findings, recently published in the journal Frontiers in Arachnid Science, indicate people will gaze at almost anything other than spiders if given the option—even if it’s another arachnid. But before they could analyze anything, they needed volunteers. The psychologists recruited nearly 120 (brave) participants to stare at 13 sets of side-by-side images of various spiders, insects, scorpions, and other arthropods. For example, one duo featured a spider next to a butterfly, while another showcased a scorpion beside another arachnid. Eye-tracking cameras then recorded their focal points over a set span of time before moving on to the next image set. Finally, study volunteers completed a brief survey to gauge their overall attitude towards spiders, including …

Do Spiders Dream of Arachnology Professors?

Do Spiders Dream of Arachnology Professors?

Published by Jenni Sidey

This edited version of the article below first appeared in New English Review. Have you ever wondered if insomniac spiders, trying to sleep, count imaginary arachnology professors jumping over college classroom desks? Silly questions aside, it’s not something that constantly occupies my mind. Anyhow, the other night as I rested in bed reading a book, I noticed a spider on the ceiling above where I lay. I wondered was it awake or asleep. This sight occurs every seven or eight weeks, and if my ceiling was made out of steel and I had a flame-throwing drone, I’d incinerate the creepy-crawly immediately because they give me the creeps. But instead, I usually get out of bed and, without killing the tiny creature, gently place the head of a sweeping brush under it in order to usher it out safely onto the window ledge. Insects also give me the shivers, even though they’re different to spiders (spiders belong to the class arachnida, insects to the class insecta). And, on a micro level, the thoughts of one scaling down its …