Arachnids, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 31, 2016

Tarantula in Black: Dark, Hairy Spider Named After Johnny Cash

A newly discovered tarantula sports a black coat that is as dark and brooding as its celebrity namesake: the renowned singer Johnny Cash. Tarantulas, the hairy spiders that stole movie scenes and won hearts in popular films like Home Alone, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Dr. No, take a...

Oct 18, 2021

Ancient dog-size sea scorpion unearthed in China

A 3.3 foot-long (1 meter) sea scorpion prowled the seas of what is now China some 435 million years ago, using its giant, spiny arms to ensnare prey. Palaeontologists recently discovered the remains of this scorpion (Terropterus xiushanensis), which was a eurypterid — an ancient arthropod closely related to modern...

Nov 16, 2021

Scorpions flood Egyptian villages after storm, sting and hospitalize hundreds

Scorpions that were flushed from their underground desert homes by recent storms have stung more than 500 people in the governorate of Aswan, in southern Egypt. Several days of hail, rainfall and flooding in the region displaced scorpions from their burrows and swept them into close contact with people, according...

Dec 6, 2021

More than 300 smuggled tarantulas, scorpions and giant cockroaches seized from luggage in Colombia

Hundreds of Colombian tarantulas, giant cockroaches and scorpions that were crammed into a suitcase and illegally bound for Europe were seized last week by authorities at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia. Airport police spotted the living cargo in luggage belonging to two German citizens who were leaving the...

Mar 31, 2022

'Berserker' geckos slam scorpions into oblivion before eating them, epic new footage shows

Geckos that are typically placid and mild-mannered become violent, head-shaking berserkers when subduing a scorpion meal, new research reveals. When a western banded gecko (Coleonyx variegatus) bites down on its scorpion prey, it repeatedly whips its head from side to side, slamming the scorpion into the ground over and over...

Jul 7, 2023

Male spider mites 'undress' females by pulling off their skin before copulating

When male spider mites are ready to mate, they strip off the skin of maturing females as part of a freakish mating ritual. Scientists in Austria uncovered the creepy act for the first time while studying spider mites, the dust speck-size relatives of arachnids such as spiders and scorpions, in...

Jan 24, 2018

Watch a Monster Spider Abduct a Cricket in a Horrifying Sneak Attack

A hapless cricket gets the horror-story treatment in a chilling new GIF of a trapdoor spider on the attack. The GIF, posted on gfycat by user jm610228 but originally taken by Nashville, Tennessee-based arachnid enthusiast Andrea van Veggel, shows a cricket moseying by what looks to be a large mound...

Mar 12, 2018

Faced with Drowning, This Giant Tarantula Goes Out on a Limb

A giant, hairy tarantula that was clinging for dear life to a branch with all eight of its legs is now in a much safer — and somewhat drier — spot, thanks to two spider lovers who rescued it from a flooded street in Queensland, Australia. Andrea Gofton posted a...

May 1, 2018

Say Goodbye to the World's Oldest Spider, Dead at 43

She was known only as Number 16 by the researchers who studied her. Little about her behavior or appearance was out of the ordinary. But Number 16 was special — she was the oldest known spider in the world. Number 16, a trapdoor spider (Gaius villosus), was first spotted as...

May 11, 2018

Meet Kim, the First Spider to Jump on Demand

A tiny but proficient jumper named Kim is the first spider ever trained by scientists to leap on demand. Teaching her to jump when and where they wanted her to wasn't easy. Of the four spiders the researchers tried to train, only one — which they eventually nicknamed Kim —...

Jun 15, 2018

Flying Spiders Test the Winds Before Sailing on Silk Kites

Ballooning spiders were first documented in the 17th century, Science magazine reported in April. But until now, scientists didn't know exactly how these spiders take to the air. In a new study, published yesterday (June 14) in the journal PLOS Biology, a group of scientists from the Technical University of...

Jun 27, 2018

Spider Eggs Look Like Rock Candy (But Don't Eat Them)

Spider eggs come in brilliant colors and look like candy, as was demonstrated by a striking photo shared to Twitter on June 26. But lest you be tempted to taste the rainbow, please hold back, as some spider eggs are known to be toxic, according to a study published in...

Jul 20, 2018

Do Brown Recluse Spider Bites Really Lead to Amputations?

An Arkansas woman who recently had her leg amputated above the knee claimed that a spider bite was to blame — specifically, a brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa). But experts told Live Science that the connection between brown recluse bites and amputations is more grounded in myth than in facts. Kiara...

Aug 1, 2018

Nicole Kidman Rescued a Tarantula from Drowning. Turns Out, the Spider Was Looking for Love.

A photo posted by on Nicole Kidman is no stranger to playing a heroine on the silver screen, but she recently did a heroic deed in real life when she rescued a lovelorn tarantula from drowning in a swimming pool, according to a video the Australian actress posted on Instagram....

Aug 13, 2018

Black Widow Spiders Bring Their Venom to Canada As Planet Warms

Venomous black widow spiders now range farther north than scientists expected, into an area including the most-inhabited parts of Canada. And there's good reason to suggest that warming temperatures are driving the fatal biters north. That's one conclusion of a new study, published online Wednesday (Aug. 8) in the journal...