Arthropods continued to diversify during the Permian period to fill the niches opened up by the more variable climate.
#Did'Deadly'Spider Eggs Really Hitch a Ride on Imported Bananas? It's enough to make you do a double take the next time you unpack your groceries!
A recent British news report claimed that imported bananas could play host to a certain species of venomous spiders.
A woman in Essex England recently discovered that a bunch of bananas delivered to her home by a local grocer was infested with spider eggs.
and reportedly identified the eggs as those belonging to the immense and deadly Brazilian wandering spider according to MSN New zealand.
It's unlikely that the woman's bananas were infested truly with deadly spider eggs said Richard Vetter a retired research associate of entomology at the University of California Riverside.
Photos of Spiders There are several reasons why fruit lovers should think twice before believing stories about scary spiders found in the produce aisle Vetter told Live Science.
For one thing in this particular case no spider was found hanging around the bananas making it nearly impossible to know what kind of spider
(if there even was had a spider laid the enigmatic eggs. Egg sacks are much harder to identify than spiders.
To identify them you need familiarity with the spider first then the egg sack Vetter said.
It's unlikely that British exterminators would be intimately familiar with the egg sacks of spiders from South and Central america he added.
However it is possible that the eggs in question belonged to an arachnid Vetter said. There are several genera of spider that sometimes survive the long trip from banana-producing nations such as Brazil Mexico Nicaragua and Costa rica to other parts of the world.
Among them are Phoneutria and Cupiennius two types of spiders that are commonly known as wandering spiders.
Wandering spiders are named for their tendency to wander around looking for food instead of spinning a web.
As nocturnal hunters both Phoneutria and Cupiennius sometimes seek out shelter during the day under the broad leaves of banana trees.
And because of their preference for these fruit trees species of both genera at times wind up in grocery stores
Typically when one of these big hairy spiders shows up overseas it automatically gets labeled as a deadly Brazilian wandering spider without anyone identifying
what genus or species the spider belongs to Vetter said. And that's a shame he said
because only one of the two genera of wandering spiders Phoneutria contains species that could actually pose a threat to humans.
The other genus Cupiennius contains some big but totally harmless spiders. There are 12 species of Phoneutria
However few of these spiders pose a significant risk to humans he added. Still there is a type of Brazilian wandering spider called Phoneutria fera that is widely considered to be the most dangerous spider On earth.
The species lives in the middle of the Amazon rainforest far from banana-producing areas. While it isn't impossible for this spider to find its way to England
or other foreign nations inside a banana crate it's highly unlikely Vetter said. There are also two other species of Phoneutria commonly labeled as deadly P. nigriventer and P. keyserlingi.
These spiders live on the eastern coast of Brazil near centers of banana production but their reputations as deadly pests are exaggerated greatly Vetter said.
Somebody did a study in Eastern Brazil back in 2000 that looked at 422 Brazilian wandering spider bites.
The only people to die from the bites were two small children Vetter said The adult victims of this notorious arachnid experienced either mild symptoms
Brazilian wandering spiders are only found in Brazil and the country consumes most of its banana crop domestically Vetter said.
or any other banana-producing nation then those eggs didn't belong to one of the deadly species of Brazilian wandering spiders he added.
Spiders scorpions millipedes and centipedes survived as well as the newer groups of beetles. The only new insect group of the Triassic was the grasshoppers.
</p><p>For many spiders the act of mating signals that their lives are about to end remember Charlotte'
For several species of the<em>Stegodyphus</em>spiders motherly love goes even further than watching over the nest.
</p><p>When the babies are around a month old the mother spider rolls over on her back allowing the spiderlings to clamber over her kill her by injecting their venom
Another example is the recent news that scientists have discovered an animal that runs faster than any other and it s a mite.
The story no doubt distorting the original science was that this mite runs faster than a cheetah
heaps of neon-pink sea stars glow-in-the-dark jellies floating spookily by yellow sea spiders breathing through holes in their bodies amphipods toothfish and yes hundreds of swirling seals.
#The Beauty of Millipedes (Op-Ed) This article was published originally at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices:
I came to collect millipedes the many-legged cousins of insects and spiders. My goal was to survey the state s species photographing
Ohio sits on the northwestern edge of Appalachia a hotspot of diversity for millipedes. The southern portion of the state is known for its rolling hills
Millipedes aren t particularly well known by the general public or even by most scientists for that matter.
or butterflies and millipede identification can be tricky. Despite this lack of recognition millipedes go about their daily routines as recycling machines on the forest floor.
They power through the undergrowth with their many legs two pairs on most segments but not quite the 1000 implied by their common name bulldozing through the dirt
Millipedes return nutrients to the ecosystem and keep dead leaves from piling up in the forest.
Though millipedes aren known t for their beauty perhaps they should be. Many of the species I searched for are in the family Xystodesmidae
Some species in that family called cherry millipedes can release hydrogen cyanide a poisonous chemical when disturbed by predators.
These millipedes sport bright colours paired with a dark brown or black to warn potential predators of their odorous defences.
and partly from hometown pride A previous study of Ohio s millipedes was published in 1928
There are few introductory resources for identifying millipedes which stops amateurs from delving into researching these creatures.
so the tangible outcome of my work will be a guide to Ohio s millipede species complete with updated ranges colour photographs and characteristics useful for identification.
My hope is that a guide that s accessible to the general public will spark more interest in millipedes
As for hometown pride there are about 50 species of millipedes found in Ohio with more still to be discovered.
I collected more than 300 millipedes and most of the species I had set out to find.
and the attendees found more millipedes than I did. It reminded me of how important the public is to projects like mine I relied on many friends to identify good collecting sites
Interactions like that solidify my drive to introduce millipedes to a wider audience and prove how critical it is for scientists
#Explorers Eat Fried Tarantulas at Black-tie Gala NEW YORK Goat testicles earthworms python and jellyfish were on the menu here at the Waldorf Astoria hotel Saturday night (March 15).
and fried tarantulas were served on sticks. Eaters in gowns and tuxedos found even the most innocuous-looking appetizers such as mozzarella
Lyme disease Deer ticks (also called blacklegged ticks) which carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease are most active during the spring early summer and fall.
The ticks don't jump or fly and so they can only get onto people by direct contact.
and Lyme disease avoid walking in places where ticks are likely to live. The CDC recommends using insect repellents with DEET on the skin or clothing or permethrin on clothing.
Arthropod fossils are concurrent with the earliest plant fossils of the Silurian. Millipedes centipedes and arachnids continued to diversify during the Devonian period.
The earliest known insect Rhyniella praecusor was a flightless hexapod with antennae and a segmented body.
Other invasive pests vulnerable to subzero temperatures include the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis) the brown marmorated stinkbug (Halyomorpha halys) and several species of ticks (Ixodes sp.
and colors such as the bright red patch on the abdomens of black widow spiders scientists have had little success actually proving these patterns are a means of species-wide communication in the guenons Allen said.
Some monkeys also eat meat in the form of bird's eggs small lizards insects and spiders.
A dinosaur spider armored fish and ghost shrimp are some the other creatures named for the naturalist.
and thousands of spiders and scorpions that were used for biomedical research. The curator Franciso Franco has told press agencies that its destruction on 15 may was a loss to humanity.
spiders with their mouthparts glued shut, so that they could induce fear without killing the grasshoppers.
Grasshoppers that were exposed to spiders switched from eating protein-rich grasses to munching on several species of sugary goldenrod plants.
Initially, this diet shift was thought to be related to how easy it is for grasshoppers to hide from spiders in the branched and flowering goldenrod.
Hawlena also studied grasshoppers and muzzled spiders in indoor terrariums. Instead of plants, the grasshoppers were fed with an artificial diet of high-sugar
such as the Varroa mite (Varroa destructor), which spreads harmful viruses, continue to take their toll.
The chemical company pins most of the blame for bee declines on parasitic Varroa mites
they could play a part by making bees more susceptible to the parasitic mite Varroa destructor and the parasitic fungus Nosema apis,
the rate of shift varied significantly for different groups and among individual species. Fungi, beetles, true bugs, mites,
the spider-goat--and that's just today. Our favorite though is this live-streaming goat-cam showing off the Nigerian dwarf goats of a farm in Minnesota.
so I Googled What rids mites...And webside after website came up talking about DE.
kills mites fleas bed bugs insects parasites<PARASITES! OMG!!!I am a groomer and breeder of expensive (show quality) Miniature schnauzers (my last sold for $1500. 00)
Freezing in arthropods is one of the most humane methods. In a natural setting during change of seasons from autumn through winter insects are frozen
I'd consider some sort of punishment for the websites that keep spamming this site. maybe some sort of spider that answers all the spam ads in annoying and useless ways s
Literally every insectivorous animal in the northeast--songbirds carnivorous birds (hawks owls) opossums foxes cats shrews snakes spiders and even dogs--will gorge on cicadas.
complex cells (eukaryotes) before 2 billion years ago multicellular life before 1 billion years ago arthropods before 570 million years ago complex animals
As the White house noted the decline is blamed on various factors from a lack of good habitat to exposure to certain pesticides to mite infestations and viruses.
#What I Learned Hunting Decoy-Weaving Spiders In The Amazontambopata PERU--In a remote area of the Peruvian Amazon lives a type of spider with a peculiar habit:
It builds a spider-shaped decoy in its web out of dead insects and other detritus and
which resembles an arachnid much bigger than itself. The idea is that these spider-shaped web additions scare away predators
but nobody knows for sure. Only discovered less than two years ago scientists know little about these marvelously strange web-weavers
The spiders live near the Tambopata Research center in Peru's wild Madre de dios region. To get here you have to fly through Lima to Puerto Maldonado a rambling mining town through
and a head lamp--275 lumens strong enough to spot an Amazon bamboo rat from a football field away easy--who's just returned from a walk to find spiders.
With him is Aaron Pomerantz a graduate student from Florida who has come for 10 days to help gather data on spiders who is friendly and inclusive.
nevertheless tastes delicious before going to see a fist-sized tarantula that lives in a nearby hole.
A five minute walk away we find the first decoy a relatively well-made one that looks like spider albeit with six legs.
and makes the spider-like decoy appear to waggle in a kind of dance. The spider is a puppeteer.
During the eight days that I am here Reeves and Pomerantz locate and photograph scores of these spiders
and I helped find a few too. To spot one you walk slowly through the jungle with your headlamp beam on even at high noon;
The decoy-building spider is thought to be a species in the genus Cyclosa and Reeves and colleagues plan to formally describe the species
Six months earlier while researching butterfly diversity Reeves discovered a similar spider in the jungles of the Philippines that likewise makes spider-shaped decoys in its web albeit of a slightly different shape.
although these blobs are not as convincing or impressive as those of the newfound spiders.
Why do the spiders build these decoys in the first place? The working hypothesis is that these spider shapes fool
and scare away damselflies which feed on small spiders but avoid larger ones. These insects in the family Pseudostigmatidae are the largest damselflies in the world.
To the untrained eye they resemble dragonflies. Our working hypothesis which we plan on testing is that the Cyclosa makes a decoy spider that is larger than the size of spiders Pseudostigmatids will take thereby gaining some protection from being eaten by these spider specialists says Ola Fincke a collaborating researcher at the University of Oklahoma
and the world expert on helicopter damselflies as Reeves puts it. Over the course of my trip and Reeves's month in the jungle he goes about laying the groundwork to test this hypothesis
if the winged creatures pluck more spiders from webs where the decoys have been removed--that would provide evidence that the decoys are meant indeed to scare off the insects.
A big part of the trip has involved also the seemingly mundane task of photographing the spiders and their webs.
and Pomerantz who are mad for understanding the intracices of animal life here especially the infinite strangeness of small beasts like spiders--nothing seems banal.
One afternoon Reeves and Pomerantz are photographing the spiders this time back in the lab
From time to time Pomerantz gently corrals the spider with the tip of a small paintbrush to prevent it from running off this white plane
Wait a second Reeves says as he snaps a photo of a spider and zooms in on the camera's screen.
when the pair photographs what they'd thought were spider eggs laying within the decoy.
I was going to say--that looks oddly like a spider for an egg Pomerantz says.
While it's not unusual for spiders in this family to lay eggs in their stabilimenta the technical name for these web decorations the spiderlings usually make a break for it shortly after hatching.
and Pomerantz place a couple in two newly-devised observation boxes that force the spiders to build webs parallel to the clear plastic sides perfect for viewing by humans.
Much to their surprise one of the Cyclosa spiders builds a spiral P shape when the decoy is removed from its web that looks shockingly like the Peruvian P that adorns much of the country's tourist paraphernalia
Perhaps the spiders are just patriotic. Reeves has also found out that the spiders don't tolerate artificial stuff in their webs.
Just to see what would happen he puts glitter (colored blue and orange representing the University of Florida) into the animals silken home
and Reeves thinks that's because of the romanticized idea behind it that people are thinking these spiders are so clever that they're building these structures that look like larger spiders.
But it's not like the spiders are looking at another spider and designing it based on that--this design is just
Spiders that have these more spider-like-looking decoys are more successful than those who don't.
It's not the spider itself it's evolution--that's the amazing thing. The spiders are dummies Reeves continues using term he often applies to his beloved arachnids with bemused affection
but at the same time they are smart enough to make the decision to know what should and shouldn't go into that structure.
There is always the possibility that the decoys have another function for example to lure parasites/predators of larger spiders all the better to eat.
and circumstance didn't allow for studying silk-henge small webby towers built by an as yet-unknown type of spider perhaps to defend eggs against wasps).
The team doesn't yet have a permit to collect the spiders but is working to get one.
It s one thing to flip a single protein as he did to create transgenic goats that produce spider-silk protein in their milk.
petrol smoke bat droppings bat caves some species of millipedes wild ginger roots and wild mango wood all have this smell. plã Âaeâ this means a bloody smell that attracts tigers.
He was inspired by spiders and insects that make secretions that stick to wet surfaces he says.
The new species previously unknown to science include 38 different ants 12 fishes 14 plants eight beetles two spiders one reptile and one amphibian.
This year Academy scientists were able to identify 38 previously unknown ant species seven new plants and two new spider species from Madagascar.
The wasp belongs to the Hymenoptera superfamily known as Chalcidoidea which parasitize other insects spiders and some plants.
With insects and other arthropods like spiders and scorpions they're around still. So we have modern forms to compare our fossil forms to
and mites found in soil. What we do is to increase the natural fungal population by releasing it in large quantities.
The death that awaits ticks exposed to this fungus is inhumane; fungal spores land and germinate on the skin (cuticle) of the tick
and then penetrate it before entering the tick body. The fungus then grows and proliferates inside the tick.
During this growth the fungus produces substances that are toxic and lethal to the tick.
The fungus continues to grow inside the tick until it fills the entire body. Thereafter it extrudes out of the tick again
and forms new spores on the outside of the body which can spread to new ticks Klingen explains.
Potential for recreational areasif the application of Bipesco 5 against ticks in sheep pasture is successful the areas of application could potentially also benefit hikers:
We receive many inquiries from private individuals teams and organizations who wish to reduce the tick problem in their recreational
and hiking areas. Klingen would like to do further research in this area but needs to secure necessary project funds in order to finance a study.
She sees a potential in using this biological control method in confined recreational areas perhaps in combination with other measures.
You could for example apply the fungus along trails and on islands with a great tick population.
This is what our collaborative partner the University of Innsbruck in Austria is doing and they claim that the strategy seems promising says Klingen.
In general Bioforsk Plante Health has good knowledge of the control of insects and mites. We know a great deal about the tick's biology and its natural enemies.
In collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Public health and several other parties we could use this knowledge in a strategy for the control of ticks--also in recreational areas.
Included on the EU's positive listbipesco 5 with the active ingredient Metarhizium has been tested for toxicity in relation to animals
therefore looking at how effective the fungus is against ticks and also for how long it is present in the wild after having been applied as a biological control agent.
#A new scorpion species from ancient Lyciascientists discover and describe a new species of scorpion Euscorpius lycius coming from the area of ancient Lycia nowadays the regions of the Muä la and Antalya Provinces in Southwestern Turkey.
With the new discovery the scorpions from this genus found in the country go up to a total of five known species. The study was published in the open access journal Zookeys.
Euscorpius is a genus of scorpions commonly called small wood-scorpions. As their name suggest these scorpions don't impress with a large size the biggest representative being around 5 cm long.
The group is widespread in North africa and across Europe. Euscorpius scorpions are relatively harmless with poison that has effects similar to a mosquito bite.
The new species is named after the historical region of Ancient Lycia which is referenced in Egyptian and Ancient greek myths.
Like the mystical history of the region the new species is rather secretive and can be found mainly in pine at night hidden away in pine forests crawling on rocks or sitting on stone garden walls.
The new scorpion is a relatively small representative reaching a size ranging between two and two and a half centimeters.
A recent survey by Mr Abhineshwar Prasad of The University of the South Pacific reported over 100 species of arthropods associated with road side patches of S. trilobata including Hymenoptera such as parasitoid wasps
whether Ige responses also protect humans from the toxic effects of arthropod or reptile venom but it would be unthinkable to test lethal doses of venom in humans.
Reptile and arthropod venoms are complex chemical cocktails. Some venom components have evolved to mimic chemicals made by the human body such as endothelin-1
--and genomic (DNA) data from a number of species of ants bees and wasps including bradynobaenid wasps a cuckoo wasp a spider wasp a scoliid wasp a mud dauber wasp a tiphiid wasp
and mites--mainly amitraz ivermectins and pyrethroids but ticks have become increasingly resistant to these treatments.
The global cost of the tick-borne diseases and associated acaricide application is estimated to be more than £4 billion annually.
Resistance to all the main acaricides is documented well--for example amitraz resistance is seen in about 20%of Australian tick populations and more than 50%of Mexican ticks.
and laboratory populations of ticks to test the effectiveness of resistance management strategies. The study was conducted on cattle at the University of Queensland's Pinjarra Hills Campus in Australia where the impact of ticks
and treatments to control them costs £120 million per annum. Prof Jonsson added: There are many theories as to how acaricide resistance can be delayed
and using tick-resistant cattle might all delay the development of resistance. However without empirical studies to test the value of the management strategies it is really impossible to provide evidence-based recommendations to farmers.
and to dust mites. There are two treatments one for grass allergy which is commonly known as hay fever and the other for dust mite allergy.
They are expected to be helpful for the millions of people who as a reaction to grass pollen
Between 15 and 25 per cent of the population in North america and Europe is sensitive to pollen from different grass species. One in four people is sensitized to house dust mites more than any other common allergen
During the clinical trial for the dust mite treatment 172 patients who received four doses of the treatment over 12 weeks had improved significantly allergy symptoms a year after the start of treatment compared to patients who received a placebo.
Positive results first with a cat allergy therapy and now with house dust mite and grass allergy treatments suggest that this approach may be used for many common allergies.
Dust mites are close relatives of spiders and ticks and are too small to see without a microscope.
They eat skin cells shed by people and they thrive in warm humid environments. Upholstered furniture bedding
and carpeting provide an ideal environment for dust mites. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Mcmaster University.
#A day in the life of the mysterious odd-clawed spider Progradungula otwayensisa recent paper published in the open access journal Zookeys provides a first time glimpse in the natural history of the enigmatic spider species Progradungula otwayensis.
Lurking in the hollows of old myrtle beech trees and thus hard to collect this extraordinary spider is an endemic species confined strictly to the beautiful Great Otway National park (Victoria Australia.
P. otwayensis belongs to the small spider family Gradungulidae which consists of seven genera with a total of 16 described species found exclusively in eastern Australia and New zealand.
A single thick and shiny silk thread is used then by the spiders to provide a zip-line like connection between the external webs and the security of the enigmatic retreat in the hollows of ancient myrtle beech and mountain ash tree.
and Museum of the University of Greifswald (Germany) about the unusual bit of luck to have a glimpse into the secluded retreats of the spiders.
The unusual living habits and high degree of endemicity makes this spider a rare and remarkable species. The new study suggests that this spider is dependent on the microclimate in the hollows of old myrtle beech trees
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