Category Archives: Arachnida

Arachnids – scorpions, spiders, mites & ticks, harvestmen, pseudoscorpions, & relatives.

My first jumping spider

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

As a long-time professional and avocational entomologist, I find beauty and fascination in all manner of joint-legged creatures. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and most people don’t exactly share my passion for these animals. Sure, … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

The Inexorable March of Spring!

Posted on March 19, 2010 by jtrager

Granted, the progress of spring seems to advance in halting baby steps with occasional falls onto its muddy bottom, rather than as a determined forward march, but spring is welcome, no matter how it arrives. When little green tips start poking up and there’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae, Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Reptilia, Vertebrata | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Tuesday Tarantula

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

One of my destinations on my annual fall tiger beetle collecting trip last October was The Glass Mountains in northwestern Oklahoma. Rising from the red Permian beds of the central Great Plains, the Glass Mountains are a series of mesas … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

Circus of the Spineless #47

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

When I started participating in blog carnivals last year, Circus of the Spineless was – for me – the pinnacle of blog carnivals.  I wanted to take my shot at hosting this venerable celebration of creepy crawlies, and even though the … Continue reading →

Posted in Amphipoda, Arachnida, Araneae, Calliphoridae, Collembola, Crustacea, Danaidae, Decopoda, Formicidae, Hesperiidae, Lepidoptera, Libellulidae, Odonata, Opiliones, Passalidae, Vespidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

BitB Best of 2009

Posted on December 30, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

In my first post of 2009, I looked back at the photographs I had posted during 2008 and picked some of my personal favorites. I hesitated then to call myself a photographer (and still do), but I at least now … Continue reading →

Posted in Apidae, Arachnida, Asilidae, Cicadidae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Conopidae, Diapheromeridae, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Phasmida, Reptilia, Scorpiones | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Creepy Crawly Spiders

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

Today’s post is another in a series of occasional guest essays by 10-year old Madison MacRae.  Madison is certainly the budding naturalist in our family, having accompanied me on recent collecting trips to the sand prairies of southeast Missouri and … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

A face only a mother could love

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

I found this guy yesterday secreted under a rock in a limestone glade at White River Balds Natural Area in extreme southwest Missouri.  Centruroides vittatus¹ is the most common scorpion in the U.S., occurring naturally in southern Missouri, western Arkansas … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Scorpiones | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Assassin ate

Posted on September 21, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

I came upon this interesting scene last month while hiking through Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve State Park, which preserves some of the highest quality remnants of sand scrub habitat on the Lake Wales Ridge of central Florida. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae, Hemiptera, Reduviidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments