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Amazing Arachnids
A richly illustrated and up-close look at the secret lives of spiders and other arachnids
The American Southwest is home to an extraordinary diversity of arachnids, from spitting spiders that squirt silk over their prey to scorpions that court one another with kissing and dancing. Amazing Arachnids presents these enigmatic creatures as you have never seen them before. Featuring a wealth of color photos of more than 300 different kinds of arachnids from eleven taxonomic orders--both rare and common species―this stunningly illustrated book reveals the secret lives of arachnids in breathtaking detail, including never-before-seen images of their underground behavior.
Amazing Arachnids covers all aspects of arachnid biology, such as anatomy, sociality, mimicry, camouflage, and venoms. You will meet bolas spiders that lure their victims with fake moth pheromones, fishing spiders that woo their mates with silk-wrapped gifts, chivalrous cellar spiders, tiny mites, and massive tarantulas, as well as many others. Along the way, you will learn why arachnids are living fossils in some respects and nimble opportunists in others, and how natural selection has perfected their sensory structures, defense mechanisms, reproductive strategies, and hunting methods.
The American Southwest is home to an extraordinary diversity of arachnids, from spitting spiders that squirt silk over their prey to scorpions that court one another with kissing and dancing. Amazing Arachnids presents these enigmatic creatures as you have never seen them before. Featuring a wealth of color photos of more than 300 different kinds of arachnids from eleven taxonomic orders--both rare and common species―this stunningly illustrated book reveals the secret lives of arachnids in breathtaking detail, including never-before-seen images of their underground behavior.
Amazing Arachnids covers all aspects of arachnid biology, such as anatomy, sociality, mimicry, camouflage, and venoms. You will meet bolas spiders that lure their victims with fake moth pheromones, fishing spiders that woo their mates with silk-wrapped gifts, chivalrous cellar spiders, tiny mites, and massive tarantulas, as well as many others. Along the way, you will learn why arachnids are living fossils in some respects and nimble opportunists in others, and how natural selection has perfected their sensory structures, defense mechanisms, reproductive strategies, and hunting methods.
- GenresNonfictionScience
328 pages, Hardcover
Published June 12, 2018
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40 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 29, 2023
Let's rip off the bandaid: this is a book about 11 out of 12 orders of the creepy-crawlies we call arachnids. If looking at hundreds of photos of spiders, scorpions, and critters you've never heard of will freak you out, do NOT get this book. Just don't.
That being said, if for you curiosity outweighs fear (jumping spiders are what got me over my intense arachnophobia), then this is one of the few perfect scores I give for a book.
I love how the author opened the book:
"As we climbed back up the shaft to daylight, we left behind the brown spiders, scorpions, kissing bugs, and finally even the black widow. I stared into the vial at my prize. It was a tiny spider, only a millimeter in body length, with long, spindly legs. Her cuticle was suffused with a delicate rainbow iridescence, giving her a slightly shimmering appearance. We were the first to have ever seen this species; her kind of Darkoneta had never been collected or described before. I could not have asked for a better gift on Valentine's Day".
The author and her husband went spider-hunting in a cave full of black widows on Valentine's Day! This enthusiasm colors ever page of the book - the author loves arachnids, and wants you to love them too.
This book focuses on arachnids of the southwest (defined here as CA, NM, and AZ). About half of the chapters are spiders, and the other half are about every other variety of arachnid - which is fair, because there are just so many spiders that people will encounter. Hundreds of photos illustrate the life patterns of these creatures, with special attention paid to hunting, mating, and eggs and young.
If you can stomach a book about arachnids - and that could be a deal-breaker for a lot of people - read this. The author not only conveys science and expertise, but also expresses a genuine sense of wonder. This affected me - even I begrudgingly acknowledge that the hellspawn known as "scorpions" have a few cool features. And the jumping spider is the cover art for a reason - they are the jewels of the arachnid world, and their chapter is simply perfect.
That being said, if for you curiosity outweighs fear (jumping spiders are what got me over my intense arachnophobia), then this is one of the few perfect scores I give for a book.
I love how the author opened the book:
"As we climbed back up the shaft to daylight, we left behind the brown spiders, scorpions, kissing bugs, and finally even the black widow. I stared into the vial at my prize. It was a tiny spider, only a millimeter in body length, with long, spindly legs. Her cuticle was suffused with a delicate rainbow iridescence, giving her a slightly shimmering appearance. We were the first to have ever seen this species; her kind of Darkoneta had never been collected or described before. I could not have asked for a better gift on Valentine's Day".
The author and her husband went spider-hunting in a cave full of black widows on Valentine's Day! This enthusiasm colors ever page of the book - the author loves arachnids, and wants you to love them too.
This book focuses on arachnids of the southwest (defined here as CA, NM, and AZ). About half of the chapters are spiders, and the other half are about every other variety of arachnid - which is fair, because there are just so many spiders that people will encounter. Hundreds of photos illustrate the life patterns of these creatures, with special attention paid to hunting, mating, and eggs and young.
If you can stomach a book about arachnids - and that could be a deal-breaker for a lot of people - read this. The author not only conveys science and expertise, but also expresses a genuine sense of wonder. This affected me - even I begrudgingly acknowledge that the hellspawn known as "scorpions" have a few cool features. And the jumping spider is the cover art for a reason - they are the jewels of the arachnid world, and their chapter is simply perfect.
September 24, 2023
Dense, textbook style book. I bought as it was listed in the bibliography of Jumper. No tarantulas.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews