Kerry Wixted

Connecting Nature & Community

Tag: maryland

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How to Host a #MothParty

Today is the end of the 12th annual #NationalMothWeek which is designed to “celebrate the beauty, life cycles, and habitats of moths.” Like many, I believe the first moth that captivated me was the Luna moth, but my quest to learn about all things nature led me to realize how vast the world of moths
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#Arachtober: There Be Pirates

You might be thinking: what’s the connection between pirates and spiders? Well, buckle up because in this post, we’re going to dive (or sail) our way into the weird world of pirate spiders. As you might have guessed, pirate spiders conduct raids but instead of working on the high seas, they raid webs. Pirate spiders
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#Arachtober: Funnel Weaver Friday

It’s Friday, so let’s celebrate some of our local spiders that make pretty intense webs: funnel-web spiders (Agelenidae). At the time of this posting (Oct 2022), ten species of Agelenids have been identified in Maryland. Agelenids typically build a a horizontal, sheet-like web with a funnel on one side (hence their common name). Like most
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#Arachtober: Charlotte’s Web

Charlotte’s Web was one of my favorite movies as a child. I LOVED watching it over and over again, but I missed how much spider biology was intricately woven into the movie and novel. Did you know? Charlotte’s full name was Charlotte A. Cavatica. She was modeled after the barn spider (Araneus cavaticus). Wonderfully enough,
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