EZ Lab

Updated coin spider taxonomy We publushed an updated overview of the spider genus Herennia, a group nicknamed “coin spiders” because of their appearance. These spiders belong to the family Nephilidae, a fascinating branch of the ...

New publication!

Updated taxonomy of “coin spiders” (genus Herennia, family Nephilidae). This group is known for extreme size dimorphism, ladder-like webs, and varied distributions across Asia and Australasia. Check out what’s new in their taxonomy in biogeography.
www.ezlab.si/post/new-spe...

The strongest spiderweb on Earth is spun only by females Bark spider silk is stronger than steel, but males make a weaker version

www.science.org/content/arti...

Schaut Euch mal das irre Spinnennetz im Bild rechts oben genau an. Das ist ja der absolute Wahnsinn😮🤩

Which web to invade? Argyrodine kleptoparasites differentiate amongst architecturally different host webs Kleptoparasitism, the theft of resources from another organism, is a widespread foraging strategy amongst animals. Many Argyrodinae cobweb spiders (Theridiidae) are obligatory kleptoparasites that hav...

New publication! 🕷️

In the Analamazaotra National Park, Madagascar, we investigated how kleptoparasitic spiders choose host webs. The answer isn’t random!

Which web to invade? Argyrodine kleptoparasites differentiate amongst architecturally different host webs.

bdj.pensoft.net/article/1721...

We found a striking diversity of 9 klepto species in 6 genera that, remarkably, are not conspecific with the 5 species previously known from all of Madagascar.

Kleptoparasite species composition and abundance varied across the three hosts: some appeared host-specific, while others are versatile.

The contrasting host webs we examined were Nephilingis (Nephilidae, large nocturnal orb weavers), Caripetella (Pisauridae, large nocturnal sheet web builders), and Anelosimus (Theridiidae, small cathemeral social spiders constructing 3D tangle webs).

Argyrodine (family Theridiidae) kleptoparasites are tiny freeloaders found across multiple host web types. Their distribution varies with host web architecture.

This is the first in-situ community snapshots of multiple kleptoparasite species in the same landscape.

Which web to invade? Argyrodine kleptoparasites differentiate amongst architecturally different host webs Kleptoparasitism, the theft of resources from another organism, is a widespread foraging strategy amongst animals. Many Argyrodinae cobweb spiders (Theridiidae) are obligatory kleptoparasites that hav...

New publication! 🕷️

In the Analamazaotra National Park, Madagascar, we investigated how kleptoparasitic spiders choose host webs. The answer isn’t random!

Which web to invade? Argyrodine kleptoparasites differentiate amongst architecturally different host webs.

bdj.pensoft.net/article/1721...

YouTube video by EZ lab Osmooka aphana: new spider genus and species discovered in Madagascar

Here is a Youtube video describing our new research. Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rWG...

1/8
A new spider genus from Madagascar!
Researchers led by Matjaž Kuntner (National Institute of Biology, Slovenia) have described Osmooka aphana, discovered in the montane forests of Marojejy National Park.

YouTube video by EZ lab Osmooka aphana: new spider genus and species discovered in Madagascar

Here is a Youtube video describing our new research. Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rWG...

Check out our new paper! Not only do we describe a cool spider (new genus) from Madagascar, related to an Australian one, but we also make a deep dive into orb weaver morphology to better understand family relationships and synapomorhpies. Proud of this one!

8/8
The discovery of Osmooka aphana highlights Madagascar’s tremendous, still-undescribed biodiversity—and the power of combining museum science, fieldwork, and genomics.
Open-access paper in Insect Systematics & Diversity: academic.oup.com/isd/article/...

7/8
Was this a relic of ancient Gondwana?
Probably not. Divergence dating puts their common ancestor at ~57 million years, long after Gondwana broke apart (~130 Ma).
The most likely explanation: Cenozoic long-distance dispersal.

6/8
Morphology and phylogenomics together place both genera in the family Paraplectanoididae, which now expands beyond a single genus—reshaping spider family-level classification.

5/8
Genomic analyses delivered the biggest surprise:
Osmooka’s closest known relative is an Australian spider, Paraplectanoides.
A Madagascar–Australia link with no known intermediates.

4/8
To find more, the team conducted intensive fieldwork in northern Madagascar with Malagasy collaborators. Even with targeted searches, they found just one male in 2022 and several females in 2024.

3/8
The male was first noticed in a San Francisco museum collection, where it didn’t fit any known spider family. A matching female later surfaced at the Smithsonian, collected back in 1993.

2/8
This species is exceptionally rare—only eight adult specimens exist worldwide, collected across 30 years from museum archives and two recent expeditions (2022 & 2024).

1/8
A new spider genus from Madagascar!
Researchers led by Matjaž Kuntner (National Institute of Biology, Slovenia) have described Osmooka aphana, discovered in the montane forests of Marojejy National Park.

Extreme Silk Toughness in Caerostris Spiders Is Limited to Adult Females We ask whether species with exceptionally tough silk, like Caerostris bark spiders, show different developmental patterns in silk toughness between ontogenetic stages and sexes. We found that only la...

Extreme Silk Toughness in Caerostris Spiders Is Limited to Adult Females - Gregorič - Integrative Zoology - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

New paper on bark spiders, who build the largest webs made out of the toughest silk. We show that their extremely tough silk, which is potentially metabolically costly, is limited to large females. Juveniles and males use inferior silk.

Extreme silk toughness in Caerostris spiders is limited to adult females Spider silks are protein fibers, renowned for their remarkable intrinsic mechanical properties. Dragline or major ampullate (MA) silk is particularly noteworthy for its combination of high tensile str...

New publication!

Orb weavers evolved some of the toughest silk, reaching extremes in bark spiders, genus Caerostris. We investigate sex and stage specific patterns in silk properties and find that extremely tough silk is limited to adult females.

www.ezlab.si/post/extreme...

New study from @michellebeyer.bsky.social published in Animal Behaviour: Silk of females performing maternal care elicits reduced courtship responses in male spiders.

Experimental setup for testing the effect of different winter temperatures on survival, physiology and gene expression in the wasp spider.

Here comes Carolina's first paper on the effects of winter temperatures on survival, physiology and gene expression in wasp spiders. Thanks go to all coauthors for their various contribution that made this work possible!🧪🕷
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
#climatechange

Come and work with us in our new home @bristolbiosci.bsky.social ! This fully funded PhD opportunity is open to anyone interested in spiders/eyes/light pollution/evolution/development! 🕷️👀

⏰Deadline 15th December, online info event TODAY @2pm! Link in the PhD advert👉 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Among other things we are interested in how Portia performs in hunting spiders after sleep disruption. #spider #sleep

Sounds legit! 😁

Close up of golden orb weavers mating. The male's body is around 10% the length of the female's.

A pair of golden orb weavers from S. Africa (Trichonephila inaurata) mating back in 2016.
#Arachtober

🚨🚨Job! 🚨🚨Permanent (75% time) job! We are a pretty awesome research group & seek a manager who deals with everything: personnel tasks, organizing retreats, preparing code for teaching / data structures for research... Fluency in German & English essential. stellenboerse.uni-mainz.de#/jgu/job/51527