I did my daily 20 min spider search and ran across this guy! Phanias species have stunning faces and remind me of skeletons. He was beautiful and perfect for practicing macrophotography. Thanks little dude! #Spiders #Bugsky #SciComm #Inverts #Macro

Last one! #spiders #scicomm #bugsky #inverts youtube.com/shorts/6reXG...

Number 3! Quick bit about arachnophobia (and more cute spiders of course!) #Spiders #SciComm #Inverts #BugSky youtube.com/shorts/nsorG...

Second video dropped yesterday! It's a quick 1 min youtube short about my research! #spiders #SciComm #inverts #kqed #research youtube.com/shorts/DnAUn...

Beautiful molt! Green bottle blue tarantula. Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens

My little alien molted successfully! I was super worried about her molting while I was in Crete, but she waited until right after I got back. I'll post another photo after she flips over and stretches out. Congrats Aurora! Green bottle blue tarantula #spider #transformation #bugsky #alien #inverts

A few months ago, KQED did a segment on my regal jumpers. I loved wrangling the spiders and helping put the pieces together. They'll be releasing videos gradually, but the first one just came out! It's both gnarly and cute, so feel free to watch!♥️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=soBe... #SciComm #Bugsky

Hello everyone! I got busy for a while but I'm back and had some adventures! I took a course in Crete and met some amazing spiders along the way, including this handsome fella. Europhrys herbigrada. These guys were everywhere! #Greece #Spiders #Cute #Inverts #Adventure

Lost leg but not heart♥️! Practicing macro again. Found this one outside. I like this picture because you can see where the spider lost/autotomized its leg. Spiders can release their legs and regrow them when molting. Cool to see it up close. #Spiders #Science #SciComm #Bugsky #Macro #Survivor

Same momma from two days ago. Looking much better. More active. She got spooked and jumped off the table. I'm glad she felt safe down there but I think she missed her goal of getting away from the "scary human." 😅 #spider #bugsky #Inverts #surprise #cute

Reposting in case anyone else wants to chime in before I present the results to my lab! 😄

She's done it again! Thank you Kathy Nagel for the bracelet! She let me pick the species too. I love it! #Spiders #Jewelry ##SciComm #SciArt #Bugsky #Beautiful

When you've been guarding babies for so long and it's finally time to eat! This lady has refused to eat because of her eggs. But the babies hatched and she's finally ready! Look at her shriveled abdomen. Enjoy your food momma. You deserve it! #spider #bugsky #inverts #ecology #scicomm #lunch

Happy Valentines Day from Phidippus princeps pulcherrimus! Love her little heart! ♥️ #Spiders #ValentinesDay #Inverts #Beauty #Bugsky #Heart

Male Phidippus otiosus (Canopy Jumping Spider) chilling on a branch in Florida. I love seeing their colors against the forest background. They were often above my head, but this guy wasn't too high! #Spider #Ecology #Fieldwork #Inverts #Bugsky #SciComm

So, a lab member caught a jumping spider. Adorable. Then, we realized the spider had been parasitized. Spider dies and we get this chunky fly. So, as scientists, we ask the obvious question... Which is cuter, host or parasite? My lab is split. I am team spider!!! #Spider #Ecology #Bugsky #Lablife

No coffee for you! I was rehousing this spider and she ran up the side of my cup and gave me this look. I almost gave in. Jumping spiders are so expressive. #spider #coffee #cute #inverts #lablife

Cute clumsy critters! We went scorpion hunting last night using blacklights. Didn't see any (too cold, wrong season), but we found some other friends! #Inverts #Glow #Ecology #Aposematism #Bugsky #Cute

Gotta clean your face before starting the day! Spiders don't have eyelids so sometimes they wipe their eyes with their pedipalps (short leg-like appendages in the front). It kind of reminds me of windshield wipers. #Spiders #SciComm #Inverts #Bugsky #Behavior #Cute

I am extremely excited to announce that for the first time ever, Skype a Scientist is offering mini-grants to support IRL science communication!! Communicating science out in our communities is critical. We want to enable others to get their projects off the ground! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

When spiders get older, some lose the ability to produce silk. This one keeps trying. Her spinnerets are moving so much! #Spiders #SciComm #Inverts #BugSky #Animalbehavior

This girl and I virtually visited a high school class in Oklahoma this morning. The students were thrilled and had excellent questions. They had just started a unit on arachnids! 😁 #Spiders #SciComm #Inverts #Outreach #Bugsky

As promised! Pictures Part 1: We built different types of webs, learned about spider diversity and communication, and looked at spiders under the microscope! The kids had a blast and so did we! #SciComm #Science #Spiders #Elementary #Teaching

Today was so fun! 6 rounds of spider sessions with 1st graders. The enthusiasm was infectious! Pictures coming soon! #Spiders #SciComm

Happy Thursday! Back in Florida, my team ran across all these fall webworms. They were absolutely fascinating, but I was particularly captivated by this lady up top! Can you see her? Green Lynx Spider #Spider #Bugsky #Invertebrates #InsectThursday #Ecology #Fieldwork Photos: Jacob Saffarian

It's here! Super excited. It's so compact and perfectly sized! Congrats @spiderdaynightlive.bsky.social! #spider #currentlyreading

Took a break from writing to photograph a pensive spider on a pensive cat. I'd love to know their thoughts. I could use the inspiration. #Spiders #Invertebrates #Bugsky #Macro #Thinking

Looks like someone couldn't wait! Took this girl out to give her some water. I planned to put a few drops in the dish but she kept reaching for the bottle 😅. #Spiders #invertebrates #bugsky #lablife

one of the WEIRDEST spiders out there - Miagrammopes sp. species in this genus have 4-6 eyes, stubby legs 2 and 3, have no venom (along with the rest of the family), hunt weird, and look WEIRD check out @nickybay.bsky.social's work for much better pics :) #scicomm #spider #stick

Happy Saturday from Aurora! Green bottle blue tarantula Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens

Day 3 of macro practice. Figured I've posted a P. regius and a hybrid, so today I tried a P. otiosus (Canopy Jumping Spider)! This chunky lady is a tree-dwelling species found in the SE USA. I sometimes see them gazing down at me when I'm doing fieldwork in Florida. #SciComm #Spider #Inverts #BugSky

Finally got a picture of this little escapee! I study mating and hybridization. Canopy jumpers and regal jumpers have different niches, but they can overlap, hybridize, and produce adorable offspring. This one has been living on my desk for a bit. #Spiders #Invertebrates #Macro #Science #SciComm

Restarted my photography journey today! Many thanks to this super old girl who sat on one of my lenses and held super still. I know there aren't supposed to be stars in her eyes, but hey, sometimes spiders have big dreams. #Spiders #Macrophotography #Practice #Invertebrates

Starting to see redback jumping spiders on my neighbor's succulents again. March to May is their primary mating season. Throwback to last year when I accidentally interrupted these two on their date. My bad guys. They were cute though. #Ecology #Spiders #Invertebrates

Exciting #Arachnology news! It's been clear for some time that spiders have 'noses' on their legs but we didn't really understand how they smell airborne sex pheromones. Now we do! Gabriele Uhl & colleagues have identified the sensilla responsible: 🕷️🧪 www.uni-greifswald.de/en/universit...

Currently reminiscing about finding this beautiful girl while doing fieldwork last summer. She was so still and just looked like part of the scenery. Fishing spiders are some of the few spiders that can hunt on water, but I love seeing them in greenery. #fieldwork #spiders #ecology #invertebrates

Happy Saturday from Sapphyira! Caribena versicolor Antilles Pinktoe Tarantula #Spider #Invertebrates #Pets #Beautiful

I love seeing spiny-backed orb-weavers! They look like magical, floating spiky balls in the air. We aren't positive what the spines are for, but there is speculation that the spines may act as defense against predatory wasps. Pretty cool! #Spiders #SciComm #Ecology #Invertebrates

When flossing goes wrong. (Seriously, how did he manage to get silk right down the middle?) #Spider #Silly #Invertebrates #humor

You never know how many spiders are truly in your lab until you accidentally drop a box of crickets. Fascinating to watch the chaos. Thank you to the local spiders for helping me clean up. You have officially paid rent. #spiders #lablife

Success! Students were super engaged and we all had fun. They especially enjoyed learning about spiders molting. I love how you can see the pink toes on this one. #Success #Spiders #SciComm #Education

Running "Smashing Spider Myths" sessions for highschoolers in San Mateo today. My little spider ambassadors are ready to go! #Spiders #SciComm #Science #Education

Sometimes your eyes are bigger than your stomach. But she succeeded! I'm so impressed. Spiders are wild. #nature #wildlife #motivationmonday #fieldwork #ecology

Excited for more outreach events this year. I just saw this article from the Lawrence Hall of Science "Creepy Crawly Critters" event last November. Thanks for having us! #SciComm #Spiders lawrencehallofscience.org/news/creepy-...

Happy Saturday from Esmeralda! Poecilotheria metallica Gooty Sapphire Tarantula #Spider #Pets

Thanks Kathy Nagel! I love how many scientists are also artists! Love these earrings that perfectly capture our colorful dancing friends. #Spider #Nature #Color #Art #Talent picture credit: Stefan Nebula Maratus volans. Flying Peacock Spider

Many spiders communicate using different sounds produced by tapping the ground, smacking or vibrating body parts together, or through internal mechanisms. This guy has a lot to say! #spiders #SciComm #fascinating #musician #attitude

I study spider communication and mating behavior, including signal transmission and reception. Just like this little guy, I'll be putting in a lot of effort this year and making moves! #SciComm #Inspiration

Happy New Year and Hello Blue Sky! I'm a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley in California. I'm excited to join this platform and bring science, a little salsa, and especially spiders! Feel free to join me on the journey! Let's learn together! #spiders #science #sciencecommunication #SciComm #jumpingspider