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actually ill try and update the gallery, those are all photos of juveniles. i have some shots of them as adults
Liphistius ornatus, as viewed from below. You can see where her legs attach to the bottom of her head, the two thick plates on the bottom of her abdomen, and her spinnerets which, unlike other spiders, are on the underside of the abdomen. Shes also very spiky all over.
as others have identified, that is basically the Mystery Zone. we know there is a small circular mouth opening.. somewhere.. in there, but idk if anyones ever seen it on a living spider. best i can do is this photo from rehousing one of my ladies, and a reference gallery: adobe.ly/3xpebDx
Dear god. Very, very serious allegations of mass civil rights violations at the State of Florida's Everglades immigration detention center (officially known as "Alligator Alcatraz").
happy to help! thanks for being kind to the baby spiders
if they are still in a nursery web, you can probably still scoop the whole thing into a wide mouthed tupperware and relocate them outside. place the tupper UNDER the web if possible bc many web building spiders respond to perceived threats by dropping to the ground
Got some extra stone bricks or sidewalk pavers? That’s free bug real estate! 🪨🐝
Plenty of bees, fireflies, & other bugs love to make their home under rocks. The housing market is tough, so learn how to help your local bugs by adding a rock feature to your space ⤵️
Ariel with a macro probe lens in Antarctica. "Hey, I'm Ariel Waldman. Meet the host of the new PBS series: Life Unearthed with Ariel Waldman".
Image of a tardigrade. "I'm a wildlife filmmaker at the microscopic scale."
Ariel talking to camera in front of a helicopter in Antarctica. "I filmed a series solo in Antarctica. No film crew. Just me for two full months in Antarctica."
Ariel in front of a large NASA logo. "Prior to filmmaking, I worked with NASA on advanced tech, astrobiology, and human spaceflight."
Watch LIFE UNEARTHED with Ariel Waldman on @pbs.org
Stream, watch, rent or download in the U.S. and Canada!
Episodes released weekly. Season 1 explores Antarctica and the North American Prairies.
1. Yesterday, dozens of major political outlets reported that Trump is suing Minnesota to enact a trans sports ban.
What few of them reported was that Trump is also demanding bathroom bans in schools there as well.
Our latest reporting from S. Baum.
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I don't think people fully appreciate how apocalyptic things are for US science. I haven't had any new funding since 2024, but I'm still ok since typical grants are for three years. This means next year I will be completely out of funding and will have to fire everyone in the lab. It's not great.
"Museums full of ancient Little Guys" theory undefeated
always having fun on the website that defines "spam" as "having a gofundme which you directly ask people to boost if they can't afford to donate" and not "making 1000 identical starter packs full of resistbots"
Big news! My first ever resin figurine Herko is here! From the original handmade clay design, to 3D model and finally this, it was such a long way we went through! I can’t wait to make more friends for Herko in the future, but now you can find them at my online store! 💚
Tiny red and black ant-like jumping spider on top of a bright red berry amidst a cluster of them
The creature running along a stem of one of the berries. They're so bright red they look fake
Tiny an't lad on a berry, close shot
Top view of the lad running down the berry
Little an'ts inspecting the coralberry 🥹
This pair of Peckhamia americana jumping spiders were very convincing an'ts amongst actual ants. ❤️
Do you (or have you ever) worked with natural history collections? Are you trans or non-binary? If you said "yes" to both of those, @rin-krichilsky.bsky.social and I want to hear from you! Please consider filling out our survey and please share with others! 🏳️⚧️ 🐛🦕🦴🌿 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
80 billion dollars. that's how much money they lit on fire. but he'll keep his job
in the following post: (4) awards made in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences directorate
My pasty lil hand holding up a pair of Pentax Papillo 2 bug-noculars (I dunno what they're officially called, they're like binoculars but for looking at small things close up.) They have a kinda binocular shape, black, on a neck strap. In the background is rock-pools, sunset, and the sea.
Ages ago @vivschwarz.bsky.social told me about these bug-noculars, & I'm eternally friggin grateful (& also to Kitty for gifting me them!)
If you like looking at bugs/lichen/things in rock-pools but have shitty eyesight? They're amazing.
"Realis by Austin Walker on Kickstarter April 2026" is layered over a science-fantasy image of four adventures.
Realis—the moon-hopping TTRPG by @austinwalker.bsky.social—lands on Kickstarter April 2026! Featuring 55 classes, 150+ NPCs, 100+ illustrations, expanded GM & homebrew guidance, and much more, bookmark the campaign today at: www.kickstarter.com/projects/cru... | teaser art: @decassette.bsky.social
a beetle glued to a point. Its head points left, with sausage-like antennae attached to large shielding scapes. The body is punctate, dark brown, and the elytra have gigantic, ear-like rounded bulges, with a golden fringe of setae along their inner edge (handles, we believe, for the ants to grab).
It is a unique pleasure to have someone send you pictures of a species you described. It's like a report that one of your kids is doing all right. This beauty is Orectoscelis westwoodi, a myrmecophile (probably with Pheidole) described back in 2005 from Queensland, AU. (photo by Jan Pražák)
watch yo jet, bro WATCH YO JET-
ahhhhh so jealous
Here's a photo of one we managed to snag mid-strike! (Antrodiaetus unicolor)
Extreme macro photo of a tiny reddish brown oribatid mite standing on the broken edge of pale, crumbly bark over dark rotting wood. The mite has a rounded, glossy, dome like body that looks almost translucent in the light, with short legs tucked underneath and tiny bristles visible near the front. The background is softly blurred in warm tan and gold tones, making the mite look jewel like against the rough texture of the log.
Close macro image of the same tiny oribatid mite on a flat piece of bark. Its body is smooth, oval, and highly polished, glowing amber brown with a glassy sheen. The mite is viewed from the side, showing its small head and legs tucked low beneath the body. The bark surface is cracked and speckled in cream, tan, and brown, with the shallow depth of field fading everything beyond the mite into a soft blur.
Another scale comparison photo of the oribatid mite on the surface of a British 5 pence coin. The coin is photographed at an angle, with raised lettering and the portrait design visible in soft focus. Near the lower left area of the coin, the mite appears as a very small amber brown dot with a rounded glossy body and tiny legs. Fine scratches and wear marks on the metal surface make the mite’s size even more striking.
Macro comparison photo showing the minute size of the oribatid mite next to a small splinter of dark wood on a British 5 pence coin. The coin fills most of the frame, with part of the lettering visible upside down. The mite appears incredibly small, only a tiny reddish brown speck with legs beside the wood fragment. The image emphasizes scale, showing that the animal is only a fraction of the width of a single letter on the coin.
An oribatid mite from the woods today. I photographed it on a log, then on a 5 pence coin to show just how tiny it is. Mites like these are the tiny machines helping decompose organic material in our ecosystems. It still boggles the mind most people don't know they exist.
🌿 #bugsky #invert #nature
You don't get to paper over the fact that they are bigots. They knowingly wanted to strip minorities and women of any historical representation. They killed projects simply because they had ethnic identities and genders attached.
Every day reveals a new post-Dobbs horror.
Lumpy brown mite with thick black legs, the 1st pair of which has tiny spikes like a metal rake on the interior edge. He's roaming the white sand
The creature at rest in the sand, awaiting snacks
Rake-legged mite! Rake-legged mite! Rake-legged mite!
Caeculidae
My guess: They think they can avoid his scrutiny by staying quiet. When, in reality, that just makes them seem like easier targets.
