I found out, but would not condone, the best way to kill spiders via the Smithsonian. Apparently you freeze it, as it knocks the spider out before death and so is relatively painless, compared to squashing it or setting it on fire (seriously, who does this?!). But I urge you to gather up that spider … Continue reading »
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Arachne et al
In Greek mythology Arachne was a great weaver. She boasted she was better than Athena herself and so Athena arranged for a contest for Arachne to live up to her boast. When she couldn’t, she was turned into a spider for her insolence. Spiders feature in several myths around the world. I’ve already written about … Continue reading »
Aggregation of spider news #1
Here’s a new feature for the blog – seeing as it’s been a bit quiet recently on the actual blogging front. I’ve been busy with Unpopular Science. This will be the aggregation of spider news, every month or so. I’ve decided on aggregation after the way that arachnids in the Opiliones order come together in … Continue reading »
An arachnophile’s dream
Or an arachnophobe’s nightmare, but if you don’t like spiders, you wouldn’t be reading this blog! I meant to blog about it a couple of weeks ago when it happened, but I have had no time! So, here’s a post about the spiders raining from the skies in the town of Santo Antônio da Platino in … Continue reading »
A cape fit for a superhero
I went to Science Showoff in Oxford towards the end of last year and the night kicked off with Jonathan Wood talking about spider silk and how we could use it. We have all heard that spider silk is exceptionally strong and “top men” (Indiana Jones reference for you, there) have been working on how … Continue reading »
Catching flies and dreams
I currently work at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford and there are several dream-catchers among their collections. Some are tiny and hang on baby-carriers, and some are larger and meant to be hung over a bed. There are also several in the handling collection, some of which are more authentic than others. One has … Continue reading »
Christmas spiders
Look what I got from Father Christmas! Merry Christmas everyone! Continue reading »
