I was at a greengrocer a short time ago, and one of the checkout operators got in such a panic because they thought they saw a spider. I tried to offer to help, but a couple of them wanted to sort it out themselves. But I AM ONE OF THE BEST PEOPLE TO HELP! 🕷️🕷️🕷️
It looks like an orb weaver to me. I don't know the exact species, but check out these little buddies here (all perfectly harmless, of course, as well as being very shiny) 🕷️ www.brycephotography.co.nz/orb-weavers-...
New Zealand mantis facing the camera
New Zealand mantis showing off its blue eyespot on its foreleg
I may be into spiders, but I love a good mantis
A monarch caterpillar, chrysalis and butterfly in my garden
In case anyone needs to see this in their timeline today #GardenTreasures
What's so amazing about Jim Henson as a puppeteer is that he could literally be explaining that Kermit is made out of felt and ping pong balls and yet Kermit still feels alive the whole time he's doing it
#Antique Watches, Cameras, and Medical Equipment Morph Into Meticulous #Steampunk #Spiders by Peter Szucsy #art
More information and photos of his amazing art are found here: www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/11/pete...
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Morning all! I recently did an interview with NBR about why I took legal action against my employer despite knowing I was going to lose money. They’ve just made the interview free to view so here’s the link if you are interested www.nbr.co.nz/toil-and-tro...
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
There is evidence that spiders can hear! Check out this link. Most spiders can't see very well (jumping spiders are one of the exceptions), but many rely on tactile cues and olfactory cues. There's still so much more to learn 🕷 www.science.org/content/arti...
Close-in photo of the head and upper body of a keel billed toucan in side view, its enormous colorful bill wide open, against a soft forested backdrop.
Who can enjoy this toucan? You can.
Neither of those spiders would bite you, but sorry to hear to hear about the mysterious red mark!
The spider on the right is a jumping spider - looks like Holoplatys or Trite pollardi 🕷
The spider on the left is the Australian ground spider, Supunna picta 🕷
Selfie with Santa
Merry Christmas! #Christmas
#LoveSpiders 🕷
This Christmas spider has been a favourite for a while 🕷
#Christmas #Spider #LoveSpiddrs
I have submitted my abstract (the deadline was extended to December 19). Excited to see Montréal for the first time! 🕷
Our latest paper is out, and it's on one my favourite spiders, Evarcha culicivora! Mate choice as a third context in which a mosquito-specialist jumping spider attends to red-coloured cues #OpenAccess royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article...
That's wonderful, Beck! And what's amazing is that the males look quite different from the females. The picture I shared earlier was of an adult female, and here is an adult male. Him and his dark features!
Hi Beck! This is indeed a jumping spider - Helpis minitabunda from Australia. I used to only see them in the North Island, but started seeing them in Christchurch about five years ago and now they're common here
Here we have Princess Fiona (clothed in green, and complete with Princess Fiona ears) and the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland
Psychology end-of-year party today. The theme was Christmas movies, so it was time to be Princess Fiona
Being bitten by a radioactive spider is always a bit of a gamble tbh.
a beautiful Paradise jumping spider, a male, overall he is dark on the body reddish on the legs and has nice frosty whitish blue palps and green eyes. He is on a rock with the blue sky behind.
Habronattus borealis male, from Pomquet Beach, NS
Been a busy time because I've been putting together an online course on Comparative Cognition for University of Canterbury. It's launching in a week from now! courseinfo.canterbury.ac.nz/GetCourseDet...
If your porch lights are on this spooky season, you may be attracting spiders! 🕷️🕸️🎃 Grad student extraordinaire Wes Walsh just published his work in @animbehsociety.bsky.social . Check it out!
nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
Inside Dewey the Jumping Spider’s head 👀🔍
This is our Jack-o-lantern on a table on our porch. It’s made of a large pumpkin for the abdomen of the jumping spider (from which 8 legs like wide v’s are cut and affixed with toothpicks). The head in front is a smaller pumpkin with 2 large and 2 medium circular eyes are visible. There are two smaller pairs on the sides but not visible here. Below the eyes are furry pedipalps. It’s dark and both pumpkins are lit.
Same double pumpkin jumping spider jack-o-lantern but a side view so you can see the smaller eyes, the legs and the wide v holes cut in the abdomen to produce the legs
Happy Halloween! Hope you are enjoying spooky season and Halloween. We made a jumping spider jack-o-lantern this year! A true collaboration: the 11yo carved the pedipalps (they look like small arms near the mouth) and I carved the 8 eyes and 8 legs. Legs are tricky!
🐡🕷️
Morning peeps! I’ve written a piece for @thespinoff.bsky.social on why I ended up taking legal action against my employer and a little bit about how it played out. The whole story needs a book to tell but this is a good start 😂 thespinoff.co.nz/society/01-1... thespinoff.co.nz/society/01-1...
