I know I'm spamming you all with the world's largest flower this week but look at THIS! A rare glimpse inside Rafflesia arnoldi!

Mainstream palaeoart often seems lily-white in terms of the diversity of its contributors. But pieces of palaeoart that rank among the -MOST SEEN- works in the entire field were examples of black craftsmanship. This week came news on the passing of Garfield G. Minott (1966-2025)... cont

For the first time, scientists have documented an unusual defense: Some species of arachnids build giant doppelgängers on their webs, creating a frightening deception that scares off would-be killers. https://scim.ag/487Myn0

Thanks Darwin Biological for including us in your book of practicals! Our hands-on session helps students to investigate how many different species of plants and animals might be lurking in their local area. Check out the whole booklet... buff.ly/YleVbXf

Poem, "Jumping Spiders Can See the Moon" (c) constance lee menefee

Tarantula foot-pad. Who knew they could be so pretty?

Meet bob the red velvet mite

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! 🎃👻 Is that a pumpkin or a spider butt? The marbled #orbweaver is all decked out for fall and the spooky season (though, really, this lovely lady was very shy and harmless)! #Araneidae: #Araneus marmoreus #Arachtober

📣 @asab.org grants BOOSTED! 📣 We've increased most of our research-related grants by 50%, effective from the next deadline of 1st Feb 2026. Check out what we offer here: www.asab.org/grant-overview

Quite pleased with this shot of an Urosigalphus braconid wasp I got in central Austin today. I suspect the wasps are emerging from live oak acorns, having parasitized the grubs acorn weevils. Not many live photos exist of this genus, it seems.

Exciting times ahead - I'm beyond delighted to be joining @bristolbiosci.bsky.social in 2026! 🎉🕷️🎉🐌🎉 I'm also looking for a PhD student to join @multipleye-lab.bsky.social in our new home! Come and study the effects of light pollution on the evolution and development of spider eyes with us 🌃🕷️👀 👇

Hello friends, I am recovering from getting COVID again and had to miss a week of work. It would be really helpful if I could get 2-3 commissions before the end of October to help me catch up on bills. My recent art is mostly wildlife, but I would also love to draw your pet! ko-fi.com/ariganahl

Different Islands, Different Songs — Cultural Evolution in Real Time 🌋🎶 Darwin’s cactus finches on Floreana & Santa Cruz sing 25 unique syllable types—none shared. Floreana = broader bandwidths 🎶 Santa Cruz = larger beaks 🐦 Kaluppa et al. 2025, BJLS doi.org/10.1093/biol... Pictures: J. Garcia-Loor

A third spider we'll be searching for in Okefenokee Swamp is Floricomus floricomus. A tiny, 1.5mm spider with a distinct plumose setae-covered horn on the head of males, this spider was first discovered in 1922 when it was CUT OUT OF THE STOMACH OF A TOAD that was hopping around in Okefenokee Swamp.

🧵Arachnophobia, while common, is unique amongst phobias bc often invokes an overlap of fear and disgust! This is not prevalent in other arthropod phobias. Interestingly, fear & disgust utilize the same neural network and have similar outputs, making them difficult to disentangle.

Day 3 of #arachtober. I can't promise I'll keep this up all month; I'll run out of photos soon, but for now here's another Araneus diadematus to delight you. This was a nice, dark form, but yet again, it was facing the wrong way 🙄 @britishspiders.bsky.social #macro #omsystem #macrophotography

super cool study found human artifacts in Bearded vulture nests, incl. "weaponry like a crossbow bolt and wooden lance, decorated sheep leather, and parts of a slingshot....a shoe made from twigs and grass is ~675-years-old." link to paper: doi.org/10.1002/ecy..... www.popsci.com/environment/... 🧪🌍🦉

Join us in celebrating Arachtober by sharing your #spider and other #arachnid photos all month. #Arachtober has spread around the web. We’ve created a basic site at Arachtober.com to explain what this is all about. Banner by @ashleymbradford.bsky.social, inspired by my recent linocut artwork.

Remembering Mark Elgar, a brilliant mind in #BehaviouralEcology. His work reshaped our understanding of animal behaviour, and his warmth and mentorship inspired generations. A true loss for science & community. academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...

I found this rove beetle friend on the rainforest floor. They are so so fast, you can imaging me chasing it around with my camera just rolling around in the leaf litter. Just unbelievable colors. In person the rainbow iridescence is stunning. It’s hard to say much here beyond just wow.

Thrilled our paper is finally out! A great collaboration between @mcaterino.bsky.social, Ernesto Recuero, and myself. We looked at endemism in spiders in southern Appalachia (largely NC). This is also likely the most species-rich phylogeny (although just COI-based) of linyphiids yet published!

The bees have discovered Brutalism

It’s hard work changing your outfit when you’re a #spider🕷️ Caught this Knobbled Orbweaver (Socca pustulosa) in the process of moulting today. It hunkered down and took a well deserved rest after this #ausinverts #wildoz #arachnids

In a new publication, we focused on the little-known African spider Megaraneus gabonensis, in which females are 4x larger than males. We provide an overdue taxonomic description, phylogenetic placement, and reconstruct the evolution of sexual size dimorphism. www.ezlab.si/post/taxonom...

Hi! We need lice for our diversity and adaptation project. Specifically, we need lice from zebras, camelids (camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos) & aardvarks. If you or someone you know might have lice, I'm happy to discuss our inclusive collaboration plans! sites.google.com/nhm.org/anop...

let me share a little story about a remarkable wasp that I encountered yesterday in our local deserts I stumbled across her, and scrambled to get a few crappy photos .... but then realized that she had a burrow, perhaps a better photo op was possible ?? here she is at her burrow entrance.

Reminder! The deadline for our infographic competition is the 18th of October. The last day of #biologyweek You can find out more information here www.asab.org/education-news There are three age categories: 7-10 years old, 11-14 years old and 15-21 years old.

this is cheese phenetics and I won't stand for it

It's #Invertefest, it's Saturday night, so... here's a couple of nudibranchs who are having a very good Saturday night indeed! Chaimberlain's nembrotha (Nembrotha chamberlaini), Anilao #MarineLife 🌿

Out in the CNMI here, where I currently am, the best answer I know of is the local Golden Huntsman, Olios sp. Relatively abundant among the spiders here, but undescribed regardless. #InverteFest #spiders 🌏🧪

Ok #InverteFest, what's common in your area but likely new to science? This slug moth caterpillar comes in the hundreds in my backyard, their poop accumulates on leaves. When the wind rustles, the poop comes pouring down and sounds like rain. Its identity is currently unknown beyond "Scopelodes".

Greetings, chordate comrades. #InverteFest is upon us. tl;dr: Over the last 7 days every April, August, and December, we invite you to show the internet your coolest bugs & slugs. Go find critters, post your art, write wikipedia pages, do whatever you like to celebrate invertebrates with us!

enoshima aquarium in fujisawa is currently exhibiting a live chiroteuthis

The 2025-26 Eco-Evo job list is out. Good luck to those applying! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

This video is from a guest on my tour this week. I was busy taking stills. This is very much a wait for it video because the cutest part is at the end. It was absolutely magical to be able to watch these polar bear cubs and their mom just going about their day on the tundra in the rain. 🌿🦊🐻‍❄️

a globally rare blind harvester (Speleonychia) moves slowly through the perpetual darkness of a shallow but lengthy lava tube, far southern Washington

This August, we're aiming for the ambitious number of 100 artists in the art book. Submit now while the form is still open! docs.google.com/forms/d/1KaR...

Illustration of a ghost ant (Tapinoma melanocephalum) for Menagerie board game by @moosegames.bsky.social 🐜 - #ant #scientificillustration #zoology #biology #insect #animal #boardgame #insectarium #menagerie #cardgameart

Scientists! @skypeascientist.bsky.social matches scientists with classrooms, libraries, & more for virtual Q&As! It's easy and fun! We are looking for 750 more volunteers by 8/15 If you're down to chat with 1-5 classrooms this semester, sign up here www.skypeascientist.com/sign-up.html

New newer. I think we’ve added four or five since I posted this in June.

Ahh! The paperback of The Game Changers just arrived! Out at the end of this month. If you like boardgames, card games or roleplaying games or you're just interested in how games shaped culture throughout history (& continue to do so today) I think you will dig it.

Here is your Sunday Spider, Sporting Socks. I think it's Ancylometes sp. (per iNat, A. bogotensis). As of 2025 it's in a brand new spider family, Ancylometidae. It was big (1.5"+ body length). I saw it by a stream; these spiders are semi-aquatic and can stay underwater for an hour. (Costa Rica) 🐙🌿🕷️

1/ Invasional meltdown is a popular but nebulous concept in invasion ecology. It involves multiple direct & indirect mechanisms, yet it is rarely studied beyond simple pairwise facilitations. In a new paper, we expand the concept & offer testable hypotheses: redpath-staff.mcgill.ca/ricciardi/Ri...

Abachrysa eureka, a lovely lacewing native only to the southeast US - and a creature I had not seen before. Please come again to the Black Light Café 🩵

Our arachno-colleague, Dr. Peter Jaeger, has the ambitious goal of running an inclusive and low-budget scientific conference: the Asian Conference of Arachnology (ACA) 2025. All donations will cover travel and conference expenses for students and ECR from low-income regions in Asia. #arachnology

It's that time of year here when the cross orb weavers are emerging, both spiderlings just hatching to begin their lives and older juveniles from last fall who have overwintered at least once. Love these spiders. #Pentax K-5ii, 100mm Macro WR, flash

Child on the hunt in the rain 🥹 (owlfly baby, newly-hatched and ready to eat)

Even if iNat seems dispensable to you due to your abundance of local resources, it's the only thing people like me have. They're now taking feedback from the community so this is our chance to steer them in a better direction. I don't want the platform to die, I want it to do better.