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Monday, July 6, 2009

Arts / Science News from the Animal Kingdom

Posted by Charles Mudede on Mon, Jul 6, 2009 at 8:59 AM

The spider's art: 029f/1246896533-301315926_706e7effd1.jpg

There is a species of spider that builds models of itself, which it uses as decoys to distract predators. The spider may be the first example of an animal building a life-size replica of its own body.

"I don't know of any animal that actively builds a decoy of itself. Our study seems to be the first to empirically demonstrate the function of animal-made decoys," says [Min Tso of Tunghai University in Taichung, Taiwan...]

A great literary home (or garden) for this type of spider can be found in any of the novels by Nabokov.

The pic by Martinkreyness.

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Mannequins in the passenger seats of vehicles in car-pool lanes...

Elongated lumps in the beds of curfew-defying teens everywhere...

Et cetera.

People are animals too!

Posted by rob! on July 6, 2009 at 9:27 AM

i'd still get it with my shoe. or at least i'd get it's replica.

Posted by m@tt on July 6, 2009 at 9:31 AM

And ants that have colonies the size of continents. Insects show us the intricacies of an even longer and more complex evolution. They never cease to amaze.

Posted by Vince on July 6, 2009 at 9:32 AM

Or any novella by Jeremias Gotthelf.

Posted by PedestrianMe

on July 6, 2009 at 9:37 AM

I like tearing down all spider webs I see because destruction is beautiful and it sends the message that I hate the middle class.

Posted by Zoroastronomer on July 6, 2009 at 10:24 AM

@1: Additionally, my great-grandma kept a stuffed pantyhose dummy in her own image, wearing her various wigs and clothing, on her back porch to fool burglars.

Posted by brocaine on July 6, 2009 at 10:42 AM

remember that movie Mimic? that was Guillermo del Toro. i'm totally gonna go rent that shit right now. and make a big thing of popcorn.

Posted by m@tt on July 6, 2009 at 10:47 AM