spiders

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with spiders

Craft

Colorful Spider Embroideries by Adam Pritchett

Adam Pritchett is an embroidery artist based in Lake District, England, a countryside famous for its forests, lakes, and mountains. From these bucolic surroundings he draws inspiration for his minimalist botanical embroideries that usually feature flowers, vines, and tiny insect inhabitants. For a particularly ingenious series, Pritchett stitched a variety of spiders into the canvas, turning gaping holes in the fabric into spider webs. You can follow more of Pritchett’s needlework on Instagram and he sells many of his original pieces in his online shop. (via Colossal Submissions)

Photography Science

Photographer Nicky Bay Documents Mirror Spiders Adjusting their Silver Plates to Appear More Reflective

For the last several years Singapore-based photographer Nicky Bay (previously here and here) has been documenting the life of the mirror spider, an unusual arthropod whose abdomen is covered in bright reflective panels that appear almost metallic. Bay recently noticed that some of the spiders exhibit unusual behavior in addition to their shiny appearance: apparently the spiders are able manipulate the mirrors in situations where they might feel threatened. In some instances the gaps between the silver plates almost completely disappear creating a larger reflective surface.

Bay continues to update his original post about the mirror spiders on his blog with new photography, and you can see a massive archive of macro insect photos on Flickr.

Photography Science

This Microscopic View of a Spider Embryo is Strangely Adorable

Taken from recent research into the development of eyes in spiders, this microscopic image shows what a common house spider looks like as it develops inside an egg. For some reason, it’s disturbingly… cute? This little cthulhu-like spider embryo is nearing the final stage before hatching and appears to be stuck in a tiny self hug. You can learn more about the embryonic origin of eyes in common house spider over on BioMed Central. (via Reddit, Göttingen University)

Craft

Handmade Blown Glass Flora and Fauna by 'Glass Symphony'

Ukrainian glass artist Nikita Drachuk of Glass Symphony creates all manner of glass spiders, octopi, and other critters by hand. He uses a method called lampworking, where a lamp or torch is used to melt rods of colored glass. Once in a molten state, the glass can be formed by blowing and shaping with various tools and small movements. You can see more of their delicate glass critters here.

Science

Two Vividly-Marked Peacock Spider Species Nicknamed "Sparklemuffin" and "Skeletorus" Discovered in Queensland

Two new species of peacock spiders have been discovered in southeast Queensland, Australia—one appearing with vivid reds and blues while the other’s details exist in stark black and white. Peacock spiders, named after their bright patterns and dancelike courtship, measure in at just under 0.3 inches. Madeline Girard, a graduate student at UC Berkeley, discovered the two species while in the field, nicknaming the brightly colored spider “Sparklemuffin” and the other “Skeletorus” after its bonelike pattern.

Jürgen Otto, an entomologist who specializes in photographing the arachnids said Skeletorus, officially named Maratus sceletus, is completely different than any peacock spider previously discovered. “Despite the large number of species we have discovered just in the last few years, I can’t help feeling that we may have just scratched the surface of this most exciting group of spiders, and that nature has quite a few more surprises in store,” Otto told Live Science. You can read more in depth about these colorful arachnids in Live Science’s article here. (via My Modern Met)

Photography Science

Macro Photographs of Singapore's Most Unusual Insects and Arachnids by Nicky Bay

One of my favorite Flickr accounts to follow is Singapore-based photographer Nicky Bay (previously) who ventures into some of the most ecologically diverse (ie. creepiest and crawliest) places in the world to shoot macro photos of insects, arachnids, and fungi. Bay went on 46 different shooting excursions in 2014 and discovered creatures that seem more at home in an Avatar movie than here on Earth. He’s also begun working more with ultraviolet light that he uses to reveal the natural fluorescence of many organisms he encounters. My favorite discovery while scrolling through Bay’s 2014 photos is this species of moth that builds a cage out of its own caterpillar spines to protect itself while in a pupal stage. You can follow his day-to-day adventures on Facebook.