He wants you to love spiders

February 11, 2023
by RJ Hamster

Saturday, February 11, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we follow a photographer who captures exotic spiders, look at tinnitus and COVID vaccines, glimpse an extremely rare jellyfish, discover why Hollywood loves western Ireland … and see the psychedelic splendor of common chemicals.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAVIER AZNAR

The bold jumping spider clambered aboard Javier Aznar’s finger.

The photographer wanted to show the size of the arachnid—and see if it was curious to see its reflection in the lens. He also wanted to show how cute and personable spiders can be up close.

Aznar gets the aversion to the eight-legged insects. He was once that way before, as he puts it, he got caught up in their web.

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Hello stranger: Perched on a banana flower, this bromeliad spider in La Maná, Ecuador, waits patiently for an unlucky pollinator to drop by. Aznar knows the spiders can spur fear in humans, but “sometimes the light, the composition, or an action can break the first ‘scary’ feeling,” he says.

He likes to watch: In Madrid, a female crab spider (Misumena vatia) feasts on a katydid as a much smaller male crab spider of another species (Thomisus onustus)perches on her abdomen. While it is common for a male crab spider to sit on a female before mating, scientists say it is rare to spot this among different species.

Sometimes the wait is worth it: It can take days or even years to spot some spiders. Above, a rarely seen crab spider blends into the foliage in Ecuador’s Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve. Read more.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEJANDRO CEGARRA

Poachers became protectors for these scarlet macaws (above)—but will it last?

COVID can trigger tinnitus. Could the vaccines do the same?

Tourists diving near Antarctica found an extremely rare giant phantom jellyfish

The ties between menopause, hot flashes, and depression

‘Banshees’ and more: Hollywood’s love for the western isles of Ireland

The real zombie-creating parasite of ‘The Last of Us.’ Can it affect humans?

What you lips reveal about your health

The deposed queen was imprisoned. Just-decoded correspondence reveals her plans to break out and take back power.

He fancied himself the world’s greatest lover. Venice helped.

Ten superb owls for the Super Bowl

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPHS BY EMORY KRISTOF, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Who would you call? When Nat Geo decided to finally get to the bottom of Loch Ness, editors called Nat Geo Explorer Emory Kristof. He was a deep sea photography pioneer, and together with Al Chandler, they developed a sonar triggered camera to place at the bottom of the loch. After a month, the camera had only photographed an eel. Kristof would travel around the world for Nat Geo and captured six cover images for the magazine (above). He died on Monday at age 80.

See: 50 of Nat Geo’s famous magazine covers

NOTABLE COVERS

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER WOITSCHIKOWSKI

Delicate work: Photomicrographer Peter Woitschikowski prefers working late at night when vibrations from traffic won’t disturb his microscope and camera. His passion? Crystalizing common chemicals—like vitamin C and acetaminophen (above)—to create mesmerizing, psychedelic images. “It’s a great experiment,” he says. “You don’t know what you’ll see when you begin.”

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY TEUILA VA’AELUA

Photographing across generations: Young New Zealanders fanned out across Auckland for a National Geographic Society Photo Camp. They explored the intergenerational ties of Pasifika people, such as the three sisters above at St. Joseph’s Church. “These young storytellers are profound and engaged,” says instructor and Nat Geo Explorer Erika Larsen. “Their work touches me to the core. I am still processing everything I learned from them.”

THE NEXT STORYTELLERS

Today’s soundtrack: Buffalo, by New Zealand’s The Phoenix Foundation

This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, Jen Tse, and Sydney Combs. Thanks to the Nat Geo French edition for the interview with Javier Aznar—and to Beata Nas, Darren Smith, and Amy Kolczak. Amanda Williams-Bryant, Alec Egamov, Rita Spinks, and Jeremy Brandt-Vorel also contributed this week. Have an idea? We’d love to hear from you at david.beard@natgeo.com. Thanks for reading!

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