So…what happened to Cheshire?

So…if you’ve been following this blog, you’ve probably noticed a distinct lack of posts. I wrote about this two posts ago, but I figured I’d share some details. For the past year, I’ve been trying to get into a graduate school. My grades are excellent-I’m one of the top in my class…it’s been a solid [...]

Spider Stories

One of the cool things about being an entomology major is hearing stories about bugs. Generally, folks tend to notice spiders for whatever reason. I have no idea why people notice spiders over things like beetles or caterpillars. I think it’s because they like telling stories about encounters with large, potentially dangerous animals. Spiders have [...]

Cheap hotels…another great thing about college life

So over here in Iowa, we had a big snowstorm this week. Okay, it wasn’t that big. It was probably about six to eight inches or so. However, the problem was the TYPE of snow. It was the light fluffy stuff that Christmas songs make such a big deal over. And it came down quickly. [...]

LOL…you’re so cute. :)

So y’all are familiar with the New-Age movement where any old bullshit is accepted and respected as a religion, right? Well, some of these loonies think the world’s going to end in 2012 based only on the misinterpretation of a Mayan Calandar. Okay…so there’s a Facebook Group called ‘Shut Up, The World Won’t End in [...]

Steatoda bites: Latrodectus lite

Many species of spider make their living around human habitations. Some of these guys can be very common where they are found. Occasionally, people do get bitten and do experience adverse effects. However, the incidence of these bites is far lower than most people realize. The vast majority of spider bites go unreported simply because [...]

Don’t you wish you were in Australia?

Atrax robustus is amongst the most toxic spiders in the world. They’re famous for this, and there are all sorts of myths and legends about them. Hell, their wikipedia page makes them sound like the Jason Voorhees of the spider world. The females live in burrows in the ground and tackle everything which stumbles across [...]

Loxoceles reclusa invades Australia? Never trust your inbox.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,24719474-5014239,00.html Spiders are subject to so many unfair stereotypes. I mean, you have some really neat attribute, in this case-flesh dissolving venom, and everyone holds it against you. I’ve seen pictures from this set going around the interwebs for years now, and I’ve got to tell you that I’m not entirely convinced this is a [...]