Tag: Spiders

Okay, new idea: ‘Oumuamua is an interstellar ‘dust bunny’

Explaining the concept of a dust bunny to small children can be quite amusing. No, it’s not actually alive. It’s moving around because of really small currents of wind that we can’t even see. It’s mainly formed out of dead skin and spider webs. No, the spiders don’t actually eat the dead skin. Most of the time. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-09-idea-oumuamua-interstellar-bunny.html…

Spiderwebs gather DNA that can help us monitor insects in forests

Spiders may build their webs to catch prey, but trials in Slovenian forests show they also grab onto DNA, which can help us monitor biodiversity in a less invasive manner Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2249691-spiderwebs-gather-dna-that-can-help-us-monitor-insects-in-forests/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Six Former eBay Employees Charged in Federal Cyberstalking Case Targeting Natick Couple

Six eBay employees including a former police captain in California last year engaged in a relentless campaign of harassment and cyberstalking of a Natick couple that published a newsletter critical of the online retailer, sending items including fly larvae, live spiders, and a bloody pig mask to their home and travelling to Massachusetts to conduct surveillance of the victims in an…

Wolf spiders may turn to cannibalism in a warming Arctic

Arctic wolf spiders’ tastes in prey might be changing. The changes could initiate a new cascade of food web interactions that could potentially alleviate some impacts of global warming. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/wolf-spiders-cannibalism-warming-arctic-video…

Insects have declined worldwide since 1925

A new study has offered the clearest indication yet of how insects all over the world are faring. The researchers studied data on the numbers and total weight of insects and arachnids (spiders and mites) sampled in 41 countries on five continents. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/insects-declined-worldwide-since-1925…

Spiders think with their webs, challenging our ideas of intelligence

With the help of their webs, spiders are capable of foresight, planning, learning and other smarts that indicate they may possess consciousness Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24532680-900-spiders-think-with-their-webs-challenging-our-ideas-of-intelligence/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…