India Narrative

  It is indeed a proud moment for Thailand as for the first time in 104 years a new genus of tarantula has been discovered in Asia. And it is indeed novel. As per a report in sciencenews.org, this newly found hairy spider is called bambootula. The reason is that it makes its home in bamboo which is stiff and tall and found in northern Thailand. The scientific name of the creature is Taksinus bambus. Talking about this species, Narin Chomphuphuang an arachnologist from Thailand Khon Kaen University said, it “is the world’s first tarantula with a biology tied to bamboo”. The hollow bamboo stems provide the spider with a hole or tunnel and obviously a readymade nest but the bambootula has a problem. It does not have the wherewithal, that is tools, to drill into the culms. For this it depends on animals like borer beetles and rodents or natural forces to make the openings. The creature once inside creates a “retreat tube” made of silk to keep itself secure and enabling it to move around wi

It is amazing to see spiders attack their prey in packs but it has always intrigued scientists as to how the coordinated offensive takes place. This is precisely what a team of researchers decided to study, says a report in sciencealert.com. Among 50,000 known species of spiders there are 20 which, contrary to their usual solitary life, live together in colonies. One of them is Anelosimus eximius, a social spider which lives in a large group of more than 1,000 individuals, who spin webs that span many metres. When a victim is trapped, these creatures harmonise their attack together enabling them to tackle prey much larger than them individually. Also read:  Beware of the snake’s hiss, the reptile means business Till now it was a puzzle as to how such coordinated effort takes place but new research reveals that using vibrations in the giant-sized webs is what helps these creatures to synchronise their attack on the prey. Senior author of this new study, Raphael Jeanson who is researcher