Are you afraid of spiders? Arachnophobia is one of the most common phobias around the world. For those that suffer from this fear, today’s blog will be frightening.
Halloween has us thinking about creepy creatures, and we just stumbled on new research on tarantulas. Did you know that these large spiders come in blue and green? A group of researchers at Yale and Carnegie Mellon are studying why the predominantly nocturnal spiders are so brightly hued and whether that matters to other spiders.
It turns out color does matter to tarantulas! The blue spiders are brightly colored to attract a mate. Which means the hairy spiders see in color. The researchers tested opsins in the spider’s eyes and found they had a wide range of colors.
While the blue spiders are trying to be seen, the green tarantulas are looking to hide. The spiders are largely tree dwellers, and their color is helpful to conceal them among the leaves.
The research continues as they learn more about the evolution of tarantulas, their colors, and their eyesight.
There are not a lot of spiders lurking in Arbordale books, but here are a few titles with different eight-legged creepy creatures.
You can learn more about these books and more at arbordalepublishing.com!
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