Bugs

You asked and Rod Crawford answered! Our resident spider expert, Curator Rod Crawford, answers your spider questions in our latest Burke from Home Q&A.

Chat with staff and volunteers working with collections, and find out how collections answer questions about our world.

Discover how life has evolved across time and space, how it’s still changing today, and how it might change in the future.

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A chevron pattern, boxing-glove palps or a funnel web do not mean it's a hobo spider; you need a microscope to determine that.

Spiders seldom need controlling and pesticides are not the best way to do so. Sticky traps or better yet, physical exclusion work best.

Contrary to what you've heard, you cannot recognize a "brown recluse" spider by a violin shape. Numerous other spiders have one too!

Few if any physicians can correctly ID spiders from bite symptoms alone. Spiders caught biting should be ID'd by arachnologists.

The most notorious "deadly" spiders of Australia and Brazil are not as toxic as their reputation; very few deaths have ever been recorded.