Tag Archives: Spiders

Why is spider silk so strong? Can we scale it up?

Posted on January 13, 2017 by

Written by Joe Ballenger Hi, I’m on a Lego League team with my school and we are wanting to know more about spiders for our research project. Some questions I hope you can help us with are, what makes a … Continue reading →

Posted in Chemistry, Culture, Ecology, Economics, Physiology, Research, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Are Brown Widows as Dangerous as Black Widows?

Posted on November 6, 2016 by

Written by Joe Ballenger As a rule, Widows have pretty nasty venom. I was knocked on my butt for about 3 days after a bite I received from a Southern Widow (Lactrodectus mactans) after mishandling her. These sorts of incidents … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Pest Management, Physiology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

There’s a lot of misinformation about spider bites on the internet…and some of it comes from academic websites.

Posted on October 20, 2016 by

Written by Joe Ballenger October is an important time for spiders. Spiders sleep through the winter, and right about now is when they’re looking for places to hunker down. Consequently, we get a lot of pictures of spiders in people’s … Continue reading →

Posted in News, Research | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Can Spiders Learn From Each Other?

Posted on July 2, 2016 by

Written by Joe Ballenger Your Name: Mark Your Bug Question: I have spiders in and around my house.  I eventually get around to removing their webs from hard to reach places like living room chandelier.  It takes so long that … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Ecology, Pest Management | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Why don’t spiders have wings?

Posted on November 23, 2015 by

Your Name: Anarely Your Bug Question: Hello, I was wondering, why are the exact reasons that spiders don’t have wings? Is it possible for them to evolve and get them or what is stopping this from happening? I’m sure the … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, Physiology | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

How do I relocate insects and spiders?

Posted on October 11, 2015 by

This is actually one of the more common questions we get, and it’s a pretty difficult one to answer because every situation is different. Insects can get themselves into a lot of awkward situations, and I can totally relate to … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Education, Insect Rearing, Pest Management | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Chemical Warfare and Evolution

Posted on July 30, 2015 by

Written by Nancy Miorelli Just this week I had the unique opportunity to give a joint presentation with Jon Perry from Stated Clearly. Jon and I worked for several months together, in combination with a team of other scientists and … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Chemistry, Physiology, Taxonomy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Can I Bring That On a Plane?

Posted on July 2, 2015 by

Written by Nancy Miorelli It’s happened to all of us. You go to the pet store or the adoption agency and fall in love with a big sweet pair of eyes. Or like, 4 pairs of eyes. And 8 legs. Okay, … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

What Is an Entomologist?

Posted on June 23, 2015 by

Written by Nancy Miorelli I will give you that “Entomologist” isn’t a particularly popular term. In fact, when I tell people that I’m an entomologist, they usually ask, “… so like, words?” I then have to explain to them that … Continue reading →

Posted in Research | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

When a Spider Loses a Leg, Does Its Whole Hydraulic System Lose Pressure?

Posted on April 13, 2015 by

Written by Joe Ballenger @BugQuestions whenever a spider loses a leg, does its whole hydraulic system loses pressure as well? My ghost spider lost a leg and froze. — Katzider (@katzider) April 10, 2015 This question came to us from … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Physiology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments