Ohio Spider Survey Wrapping Up

After 15 years, a biologist at Ohio State Univeristy is wrapping up his state spider survey. (News source.)

While I know that it would be practically impossible to do a full guide to the state's spiders, I hope that their proposed book on common species really does cover most recognizable arachnids in the state; I'd like to see them do as well with this book as the Ohio Biological Survey did with their salamander book.

Largest Orb-Weaver

The largest orb-weaving spider has been described from Maputaland (in coastal South Africa) and Madagascar. The female of Nephila komaci has a legspan up to 12cm. (News source.)

Herbivorous Jumping Spider

I think we saw a report on this a year or so ago, but it's back in the news: a jumping spider prefers to eat specialized leaf tips and drink nectar. (News source.)

Decoy Spiders

Some researchers in Taiwan suggest that a small orbweaver there, Cyclosa mulmeinensis, creates decoy spiders out of detritus to divert the attention of predators. (News source.)

Wolf Spider Behavior

A few species of French wolf spiders have been found to survive underwater "drownings," reviving after several hours in "comas." (News source.)

Big Alien Spider

An Oklahoma grocery found a big spider in the batch of bananas, prompting fears it might be a venomous wandering spider. Tulsa Zoo officials took a look at a photo and said it was probably just a common (and harmless) huntsman spider. (News source.)

Spider Catches Finch

An Australian golden orb weaver was photographed feeding on a dead finch in its web. (News source.)

Big Mystery Spider

An Illinois woman photographed a large spider in her garage that specialists think might be a South American wandering spider; the spider is still on the loose. (News source.)

Vegetarian Spider

A jumping spider, Bagheera kiplingi, has been found (in populations in Mexico and Costa Rica) to feed on bits of acacia tree sprouting leaflets, dodging resident acacia-tree ants. (News source.)

Those California Tarantulas...

The Anomalist notes: "Meanwhile, they haven't announced plans for a survey yet, but state entomologists have already concluded Tarantulas Have 'Invaded' Southern California." Not sure if they realized this, difficult to tell from a blurb, but the tarantulas noted are a native species to North America. (The article mentions a Chilean rosehair, but that's not the species that is swarming San Diego County; it's just noted as a lab worker's pet.) We've got several species of tarantulas in the southwestern states, this just happens to be breeding season.

Now, we do, as noted previously here, have invasive tarantulas in southern Florida. Several years back, some guy down there emailed me to say he had found large black scorpions (either emperors or Asian forests) introduced into one region; but he wouldn't disclose the location as it was his "skunk ape" research area.

Spider Woman Interview

Here is an audio interview with a biologist who tracks down spiders all over the world, captures them, and milks their venom.

Texas Spider Webbing Identified

The giant spider web found at Lake Tawakoni State Park is made up of webbings from several different species. From the news:

"Heavy rains early this summer created prime feeding conditions for the spiders, which worked collectively to spin a web that nearly covered a pond ripe with mosquitoes and other insects.
"'Normally they are cannibalistic and their webs are separated,' said Allen Dean, a Texas A&M University entomologist. 'They live in harmony because there's so much food available.'" ...
"Dean studied 250 specimens and identified 12 families of spiders in the same web. He said the most prevalent type is from the Tetragnathidae family, which typically weave individual orb-shaped webs.
"Arachnid expert Hank Guarisco, of Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kan., traveled to Texas to take a look for himself. He camped at the park, observing the spiders at night because some of them are nocturnal.
"He said he was impressed with the variety of spiders contributing to the web.
"'Tetragnathidae are usually solitary spiders who build their own webs and mind their own business," he said. "Here they are sharing a lot of foundation strands that are all over the place. They don't have individual webs anymore.'"

Big Web

A 200-yard stretch along the nature trail at Lake Tawakoni State Park, Texas, has been covered with a sprawling spider web (or rather a massive conglomerate of webbing). The species is unknown, but is creating a lot of internet buzz among bug enthusiasts. (News source.)

A Possible New Huntsman Spider?

Spotted in a rain forest in North Queensland, the orange and black marked spider may be the newest member of the Huntsman Clan.

The female collected by Alan Henderson has a 35 mm body and 90 mm leg span (that is around 1.4 inches and 3.5 inches, respectively).

Dubbed the "Tiger Huntsman" due to its coloration, the world may not know whether it is truly a new species until after it expires. Until then it can be seen as part of Melbourne Museum's Bugs Alive! exhibit.

For more see The Age