Weird Ways Animal Moms Feed Their Babies
Any human mom can attest that keeping a baby fed and happy can be a Herculean task. That’s why some animal mothers have evolved some truly creative—and sometimes surprising—strategies. These include regurgitating nectar, sequestering toxins, and even self-sacrifice.
Read my latest for National Geographic's Weird & Wild news: Bats Regurgitate Nectar for Their Babies -- A New Discovery.
Do Spiders Think?
Spider webs can be beautiful, intricate, and deadly – but what can they tell us about the spiders who build them? Orb weaving spiders’ flexible behavior during web construction seems to indicate some degree of insight or understanding.
Read more at my Animal Minds blog: Do Spiders Think?
Spiders and Centipedes Devour Frogs, Snakes -- and an Opossum
Spidersand centipedes and water bugs, oh my! It turns out these creepy crawlies can bepredators just as fierce as lions and tigers. A team of biologists has documented 15 predator-prey interactions where the invertebrates are hunters and the vertebrates prey. Their article includes photo and video evidence of invertebrate predators – mostly large spiders as well as some centipedes and a giant water bug – killing and eating vertebrates such as frogs, tadpoles, lizards, snakes, and even a small opossum.Watch a video of the opossum incident, see more photos, and read my story at National Geographic: First-Ever Video Shows Tarantula Eating Opossum
