Travis McEnery

Hey #spidersky - need some research help. I'm trying to find any data on the yield point of flagelliform/capture spiral silk. I can find some stress-strain curves but I can't see a yield point on them and my own FAFO-ing suggests it remains elastic MUCH longer than MA silk. Anyone?

Honestly not sure - it doesn't look familiar to me. Did you try any of the FB groups? Someone familiar with OH spiders will probably know!

Not sure why, sorry... clearly an American news source but I don't know.

PA man sets fire to multiple homes to 'kill the spiders,' police say Sean McDermott, 36, is accused of arson after setting his home on fire because "he needed to kill the spiders," leading to the destruction of several neighboring homes, according to police.

This is why I do what I do... I try to make people less afraid of spiders so that nonsense like THIS doesn't happen.

www.wgal.com/article/pa-s...

Just had my crappy laptop crash while trying to use it to place an order for a new laptop.

Spider people! Anyone out there doing any work on Microhexura montivaga? Or does anyone know if any surveys are happening this year? Got a friend looking into them.

For the first time in global legal history, a country has recognized the legal rights of insects, and it is the stingless bees of the Peruvian Amazon that are taking the first step toward a new model ... Peru just made history: stingless bees in the Amazon now have legal rights, letting communities sue to defend hives and habitat.

Well this is neat.

"For the first time in global legal history, a country has recognized the legal rights of insects, and it is the stingless bees of the Peruvian Amazon that are taking the first step toward a new model of coexistence between nature and the law." share.google/hjumfhhF2gJo...

One taco shell nestled inside another, with the first one solidified into a completely closed position, the top edges literally touching each other making it impossible to put anything in without cracking it, all in front of an Old El Paso taco shell box.

What exactly do you propose I do with THIS, Old El Paso?

I don't think so, though I recognize the genus name. What's cool about it?

YouTube video by Travis McEnery How Spiders Survive Winter is Cooler Than You Think

Ever wonder what happens to spiders in winter? Here ypu go!

youtu.be/mzzfJLQGV8A

This is the best thing I've seen all week.

Me in a corporate workplace lunchroom:

ME: Hey, can I sit with you guys?
COLLEAGUE: Only if you promise not to talk about spiders.
ME: Okay, I promise.
COLLEAGUE: Good, because nobody wants to hear about gross poisonous insects.
ME: OKAY FIRST OF ALL

Had someone try to explain to me yesterday that "peer review" was a concept invented by - or "owned by", it wasn't entirely clear - Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell for some nefarious, deceptive purpose.

Yes, this is a person who "does their own research".

Wild.

As someone who has both a spider and a lizard under her care, this is very specific to my interests. 🥰

Thanks! Glad ypu liked it!

I love Uloborus. That resting twig stance is lovely.

Aw, thanks! It's great to know people are getting excited about spiders. Every new species I research amazes me. And yes, I've read Children of Time, and it's incredible. I bought the second one but haven't had time to read it yet.

A chessboard on a wood table, with a vintage Soviet chess clock next to it.

My kid is as good as I am, apparently. We played twice and came away with a win apiece. We're both beginners essentially, but we're both learning and he specifically brushed up on variations to punish my typical Caro-Kann...

I want to try it and feel like I have ice powers too.

Learning about supercooling and I just read about how pure water can be cooled to -10C and remain liquid, but if you then shake it, it flash freezes, and I said out loud to myself "Oh that would be super-cool" then realized what I said and laughed...

I'm alone in the lunchroom.

Hey scientists: what do you folks do when a primary source you want to look at is in a language you don't speak? Rainer Foelix is a great starting point for stuff but a lot of his sources are entirely in German and my German ist nicht gut genug.

I hope I got it about right! A lot of that material was a bit over my head but Giulia definitely helped me make sense of it. Glad you think I presented it well. It was a fascinating paper!

YouTube video by Travis McEnery The Featherlegged Orbweaver - The Spiders in Your Yard

This one took longer than I expected, because I had no idea how unusual these spiders actually were. Who knew they were so full of surprises?

With help from the fantastic Dr. Giulia Zancolli!

youtu.be/2TE9xZDnvM8

The cover of Sarah Rose's "Spiders of North America", with droplets of spider poop on it.

Just discovered that there is spider poop on my spider book.

I just got an email back from them - they've fixed it!

Hehe, I just did, too. Maybe they'll change it if we make enough noise.

But... that is not a Joro spider in the photo... isn't that Argiope trifasciata?

I mean it sounds like the spider that was actually found was properly identified by someone qualified but that can't be a photo of the actual spider in question (the article says the photo is a "representative").

An AI overview response about the tufts of hair on the tibiae of the first pair of legs on Uloborus spiders, which identifies them as calamistra, which is actually a totally different comb-like structure on the fourth pair of legs.

Get it TOGETHER, robot. Those are not calamistra.

A coffeemaker on a store shelf, with the word "smeg" proudly displayed as the brand name.

Whoever built this coffeemaker clearly never watched Red Dwarf.

Or they did and they're cheeky.

A long-jawed orb weaver out on the capture spiral of her web, with glue drops visible on the capture spiral.

Going through the #Darktable library as i'm working on this script and came across this image of a long-jawed orbnweaver that I'd forgotten all about. Tetragnatha sp., probably either T. elongata or T. versicolor but I'm not sure which. I like how the glue drops are visible on the capture spiral.