Monday, July 25, 2005

Linda's Brown Recluse Spider Bite Journal : "The most frequently asked BRS questions we get are 'I just got bit. What do I do? Is it a BRS bite? How bad is this bite going to get? Should I go to doctor?'I can't tell you how bad your bite is going to be nor can I confirm the bite as a BRS or give you medical advice, but I can share with you my recent experience along with lots of pictures. My bite and the recovery process I believe is typical of most 'somewhat severe' to 'severe' bites. This adventure is something I never want to repeat!"

warning: not for the squeamish.

(via growabrain)

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Adopt a Hawaiian Happyface Spider: "Would you like to adopt a Hawaiian Happyface Spider? These tiny spiders were discovered in 1973 in the rainforests of Hawaii. Actually their bodies are only 1/4 inch long, but we have drawn them larger so that you can see them better. They are called Happyface Spiders because of the pattern on their abdomen that looks like a smiling face. Each spider has a one-of-a-kind pattern, and the patterns differ from island to island."
Web construction movie"This Quicktime movie shows an exemplary orb-web construction of Araneus diadematus in the laboratory. The movie is based on recorded moves of the spider, with the threads reconstructed from those moves and from the photograph of the finished web. It is a slightly simplified account of a web construction selected for its simplicity; early stages (exploration phase) are highly variable and usually more complicated than the ones shown here (Zschokke 1996), the later stages are always quite predictable."

Sunday, July 03, 2005

The Redback Spider had two penises. And lost them both. - The Scientific Indian: "The male copulates with the female and let's her eat him. This isn't like nibbling at a fingernail. The female injects an organ dissolving fluid into the male spider's body and then drinks the bag of juice that the male spider turns into. "