Travis McEnery

@travismcenery

Making less wronger spider science productions on YouTube.

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Travis McEnery@travismcenery· 22d

Any guesses how THIS is going to figure into the video I'm working on? Practical demonstrations require weird things sometimes.

A clear plastic bottle containing green fluid, with a paper label that says "Random Green Stuff".

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Jun 12

If you know, you know...

A camera sits on a table, but the camera has a metal arm attached holding a piece of cheddar cheese in front of the lens.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· May 25

This new book by Dr. Stephanie Dole (aka Dr. Beetlelady) is fantastic. For any kids in your life (it's aimed at ages 8-12), "Bug Power" depicts various invertebrates as having superhero-powers with great illustrations, alongside excellent photos and real-life information. More in alt-text!

Dr. Stephanie Dole's "Bug Power", now available wherever you get books. The illustrations are fantastic, super-imaginitive, and fun (there's even a subtle Star Wars reference in there), but pairing that with detailed photos and real science makes this a uniquely engaging book. This is the kind of book that moves kids from "ew" to "oh wow" when they encounter invertebrates.

And no, I'm not getting paid to say this, the publisher just sent me a copy for review (thanks to them btw!).

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Apr 22

Spent a few minutes brush-beating just for fun in my yard today since the sun was out, and into my bin fell this little guy. I believe this to be Hentzia mitrata, though I'm not positive on the species. Regardless, it's the first of this genus I've ever found here at home. #spidersky #Pentax

A jumping spider posed on some cardboard. Pentax K-5ii, 100mm Macro WR, Promaster flash w/ homebuilt diffuser

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Apr 17

Nobody talks about how much fun it is to read science from the 1700's. This is from Francois Xavier Bon's "A Discourse on the Usefulness of the Silk of Spiders", published in Philosophical Transactions Volume 27, in 1710. "Parts of Generations" is wonderfully euphemistic.

An image of a page from the text that reads "The hinder part of the body of this insect is joyned to the fore-part only by a small thread, and cover'd with a thin skin, on which are hairs of divers colours: it contains the Back, Belly, Parts of Generations, and the Anus. I shall apply my self more particularly to the Description of the Aunus, as being the Part from whence the Spiders draw their Silk; it not being my design to give a Genral Description of this Insect, but only to speak of their Silk, and the Usefulness of it. It is certain, that all Spiders spin their THread from the Aunus; about which there are five Papillae, or small Nipples, which at first sight one would take for so many Spindles, that serve to form the Thread: I have found these Papillae to me Muscular, and furnished with a Sphincter. A little within these I have observ'd two others, from the middle of which issue several Threads, in a pretty large quantity, sometimes more, and sometimes less, which the Spiders make use of...

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Feb 14

What exactly do you propose I do with THIS, Old El Paso?

One taco shell nestled inside another, with the first one solidified into a completely closed position, the top edges literally touching each other making it impossible to put anything in without cracking it, all in front of an Old El Paso taco shell box.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Jan 22

My kid is as good as I am, apparently. We played twice and came away with a win apiece. We're both beginners essentially, but we're both learning and he specifically brushed up on variations to punish my typical Caro-Kann...

A chessboard on a wood table, with a vintage Soviet chess clock next to it.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Jan 8

Just discovered that there is spider poop on my spider book.

The cover of Sarah Rose's "Spiders of North America", with droplets of spider poop on it.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Dec 31

Get it TOGETHER, robot. Those are not calamistra.

An AI overview response about the tufts of hair on the tibiae of the first pair of legs on Uloborus spiders, which identifies them as calamistra, which is actually a totally different comb-like structure on the fourth pair of legs.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Dec 23

Whoever built this coffeemaker clearly never watched Red Dwarf. Or they did and they're cheeky.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Dec 15

Going through the #Darktable library as i'm working on this script and came across this image of a long-jawed orbnweaver that I'd forgotten all about. Tetragnatha sp., probably either T. elongata or T. versicolor but I'm not sure which. I like how the glue drops are visible on the capture spiral.

A long-jawed orb weaver out on the capture spiral of her web, with glue drops visible on the capture spiral.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Dec 15

The spider dangling in front of my monitor as I look at a spider photo...

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Nov 28

I just saw this now. That was such a great year, especially for Canadian music. "Day for Night" was the clear piece of genius, though.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Nov 27

I believe I have just successfully imaged trichobothria in an identifiable way with my own equipment and this is one of those tiny accomplishments that make me disproportionately happy.

A microscope photo of femurs I and II and the prosoma of a featherlegged orbweaver. Just barely visible on femur II are the long, fine hairs that are identifiably trichobothria.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Oct 31

What, are Australian families a different size than average Canadian ones? Does it take more, or less, beef to feed an Australian family?

A price label on a package of meat at a grocery store, with the product description written as "BEEF AUSTRALIAN FAMILY SIZE TOP SIRLOIN STEAK"

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Oct 29

Somebody please tell me I am not the only nerd to ever bring hot sauce to work in a specimen vial.

A burrito sits on a table next to a glass vial full of Frank's hot sauce.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Oct 22

Here's where I found myself this morning. On spider-related business. Obviously. If you're a spider nerd, you've probably seen the shorts about this. Turns out they're not WRONG, really, but they could be a bit... less wronger. Work is in progress.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Oct 12

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians! Hope you enjoy your turkey with cranberries the way this wolfie is enjoying her... wolfie, apparently, ON a cranberry, while skimming the surface of a cranberry bog.

A wolf spider (pardosa, probably?) sits atop a cranberry which is floating on the surface of a cranberry bog, while eating what appears to be another wolf spider.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Oct 7

Trying to draw a diagram of a salticid retina for a video and accidentally drew a speedo.

A computer screen showing a GIMP window with a drawing of a shape that looks like a bright red speedo.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Oct 7

Working on a video and came across this photo of this very thoughtful-looking Western Lynx spider and thought it was adorable. So I thought I'd share. #Pentax K-5ii

A Western Lynx spider, Oxyopes scalaris, sucks on his toe thoughtfully on a white background.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Sep 23

Tried to film Dana grabbing her dinner tonight and vastly underestimated the distance and speed at which she can sense - and strike - prey. This genus of spiders absolutely astounds me.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Sep 21

A species I don't often get to see, I came across this lovely little Dolomedes triton yesterday, the Six-spotted fishing spider. I didn't realize how comfortable they are when fully submerged, with a layer of air sticking to them. And they're instantly dry when they resurface. Love these spoods.

A six-spotted fishing spider, Dolomedes triton, on the surface of the water near a rock.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Sep 16

Today was a bit rough but this lovely picture of my little Larinioides made it a bit brighter.

A juvenile Larinioides sclopetarius at the hub of her (?) web.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Sep 6

Trying to photograph a spider: ME: You'll hate the plastic tub, here's a nice rock to sit on like where you came from SPIDER: No I don't think I will ME: Please just get on the rock for a nice picture SPIDER: No we hates it ME: Could you just SPIDER: We hates you too

A spider in a Rubbermaid dish pan stubbornly refuses to stay on a perfectly good rock, despite clearly detesting the feeling of the plastic

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Aug 24

Some of Temu's AI-generated product images are something else. I just... don't know what to say about this one.

An AI generated image of what looks like a bathroom, with a coiled-up drain cleaning cable the size of a Volkswagen hanging on the wall, which is apparently also a portal to another bathroom with a weirdly duplicated bathtub, atop which a woman in her underwear with long hair but apparently no head stands on one of her two-and-a-half legs and reaches for something on the ceiling. Also there's a stack of towelgloves in the corner of the first bathroom with a somewhat normal-looking woman standing and looking into a mirror. It's wild.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Aug 17

Trying to record music in my office and a major challenge is moving instruments around without putting them right through the webs of my orb weavers.

A bass guitar in the foreground, with two frames behind it each containing an orb-weaving spider, and two more guitars hanging on the wall in the background.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Aug 15

So with the size of the wildfires here in Nova Scotia being expressed in hectares, helpful people put this graphic on the internet and the math is right but WHY ARE THEY NOT SQUARES???

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Aug 7

When you need a picture of a spider's claw tuft and the only instrument you have that gets close enough is your kids' old toy microscope. Kinda blurry but it's visible!

A through-the-eyepiece view of the claw tuft of a resplendent running crab spider, shot on a phone with a kids' toy microscope.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Aug 6

This little tiny Larinioides tho... (Whole spider is maybe the size of a lentil)

Travis McEnery@travismcenery· Aug 3

iNaturalist is normally pretty good at figuring out whatever I throw at it, but it seems to be having a real bad day today. Still don't know what spider this is, but I'm pretty sure it's not a bat.