As a volunteer Spider Collection Assistant at The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, I’m becoming increasingly aware of the rampant misinformation disguising itself as “common knowledge” regarding spiders. Rod Crawford, Curator of Arachnids for the Burke’s incredible collection of specimens, spends a great deal of time dispelling these myths in the form of emails, telephone calls, and his fascinating website, Spider Myths.
Though, admittedly, I am in the early stages of my arachnid education, the typical layperson knows little to nothing about the lives and behaviors of these amazing, beautiful creatures. To compound the problem, I’ve come across numerous contradictions between seeming “spider experts” in my reading on the subject. This may be due to an attempt to simplify the complex or by generalizing exceptions, but I believe it is a great disservice to the 40,000+ species (and the many more yet to be discovered) that have spent the past ~400 million years evolving an astonishingly diverse and effective way of life.
I encourage you to check out Rod’s website for a taste of the abounding spider myths that are perpetuated by unfounded fears, beliefs, and Hollywood films.
The Bad Rap of Spiders
11 11 2008By Rhymi Chavid
As a volunteer Spider Collection Assistant at The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, I’m becoming increasingly aware of the rampant misinformation disguising itself as “common knowledge” regarding spiders. Rod Crawford, Curator of Arachnids for the Burke’s incredible collection of specimens, spends a great deal of time dispelling these myths in the form of emails, telephone calls, and his fascinating website, Spider Myths.
Though, admittedly, I am in the early stages of my arachnid education, the typical layperson knows little to nothing about the lives and behaviors of these amazing, beautiful creatures. To compound the problem, I’ve come across numerous contradictions between seeming “spider experts” in my reading on the subject. This may be due to an attempt to simplify the complex or by generalizing exceptions, but I believe it is a great disservice to the 40,000+ species (and the many more yet to be discovered) that have spent the past ~400 million years evolving an astonishingly diverse and effective way of life.
I encourage you to check out Rod’s website for a taste of the abounding spider myths that are perpetuated by unfounded fears, beliefs, and Hollywood films.
Contributed by R. Chavid