Abbott Ecology

  GRRRRRRRRRR This is the SECOND American House Spider that I have ruined. It was totally dry and I dropped the foam board with my spider on it maybe ¼ of an inch. I’m not above supergluing this dude back together, so help me! I have a brown widow that dried janky despite all my best efforts, a 7-legged American House Spider and I just pinned my SECOND green grasshopper. If this grasshopper doesn’t make it I’m going to defenestrate the whole project!  No bug entries for today, this is journal entry functions to say that science isn’t perfect. It’s an iterative process that demands careful and patient attention. Sometimes as scientists it is difficult to channel the attention appropriately. In my case screaming rather than continuing to explore. The more that I practice the better I will get, I just need to make it through a few more screaming fits and superglue the broken pieces back together - possibly literally? No shame.  Also, I saw a trapdoor spider and decided not t...

  I caught some bugs last week (7/5) and tried to pin them today. It was UNSUCCESSFUL! My grasshopper was too stiff and the leg broke off. My garden spider was too squishy and its abdomen just fell off. I am still sad. However, the brown widow (Latrodectus geometricus) that was on my porch last night pinned well. I pinned at every joint so that she'll be beautiful. There's an egg sack of hers behind our mailbox. Since brown widows ferociously hunt black widows (their cousins) we have elected to leave those babies alone. From now on I'll pin my bugs within a day or two of capturing them. My dried bugs are ready to submit for an entry, so without further ado…  Cicada  Latitude: 29°31'08.8"N Longitude: 98°29'46.5"W Date Caught: 7/5/19 Scientific Name: Tibicen auletes Details: 7cm long yellowish brown Great Water Scavenger Beetle Latitude: 29°31'08.8"N Longitude: 98°29'46.5"W Date Caught: 7/5/19 Scientific Name: Hydrophilus triangularis De...

  I'm stumped. I cannot identify this one spider. Caught in a Central Texas garage. Aggressive. Approximately 6.0 mm in length. Dark brown, except for a black abdomen. The abdomen has a dark brown single spot that is the same color as the rest of the body. It is not fuzzy. It has to small symmetrical processes on the caudal end of its abdomen. It appears to have a flattened abdomen. I mention this because on the first spider I pinned, I accidentally pinned the abdomen. It deflated and looked like this does, but I didn't pierce the abdomen while pinning this one. I wasn't able to closely observe him alive.   Update 8/27/2022: Hacklemesh Weaver, a species of Intertidal Spiders (Desidae) As I have collected specimens, pinned them, and identified them, I have figured out some things. This is a guide to how I have made my collection. This is not the only way. Experiment around, and see what works for you! Don't try to pin bugs that you found dead. They're brittle and hav...