Tree wells are a natural phenomenon in deep mountain snow. Evergreens basically act as flour sifters, causing snow around the trees to have less density than surrounding snowpack. Backcountry snowsport enthusiasts on ungroomed courses who get too close to these trees drop in (usually head-first) and can't extricate themselves. Read the rest
Fastbees.net posted video of a large fishing spider hunting bees. As long as it doesn't move too quickly, it can grab the relatively small insects and sneak off with them. But when it gets skittish: game over. [via] Read the rest
1. Cute. Read the rest
It turns out the master designer behind this somewhat creepy form is in fact a tiny spider, only about 5mm in body length, that is hiding behind or above that false, bigger spider made up of debris. After discussing with several spider experts, we've determined it is quite probable that this spider is a never-before-seen species in the genus Cyclosa. This genus is known for having spiders that put debris in their webs to either attract prey or, as in this case, confuse anything trying to eat them.
New Species of 'Decoy' Spider Likely Discovered At Tambopata Research Center [via David Mizejewski] Read the rest
