Trapdoor spiders get their name from the trapdoor-like entrance they make to their underground burrows. Made of silk, soil, and plant matter, a trapdoor spider’s habitat is an interesting study in bug behavior. Readers will be fascinated to learn all about the trapdoor spider through this volume, which is written to support elementary science curricula. The information-rich text explores the life of a trapdoor spider with a special focus on their burrows and the behaviors that keep these spiders close to or under the ground. Readers also learn about the spider’s role in its ecosystem, its life cycle, and physical and behavioral features. Fact boxes, color photographs, and age-appropriate text are designed to make learning fun.

Lots of animals hunt prey to survive. Many of them attack with sharp teeth and claws. But did you know that some animals have sneaky and clever ways of hunting? Trap-door spiders hide until just the right moment. A peacock mantis shrimp packs a powerful punch. And killer whales swim, dive, and work together. The animals in this book use lures, traps, and teamwork to catch their prey. Read this book to learn all about predators and their unique hunting tactics!

There are animals that hunt, and then there are animals that wait until their prey comes to them. These animals make terrific traps that are sure to snap up their dinner when it walks by. Readers will be fascinated by these trap-making animals, including spiders that throw nets and spit poison, alligators that lure birds onto their nose, and antlions that build pits for other animals to fall into. This book covers the animals’ habitats, social structures, and anatomy, while explaining how their traps work. Fact boxes supplement this high-interest topic and give a deeper understanding of animal behavior and ecosystems. Fascinating text and bright visuals will make these sneaky hunters come to life.

"It's a good thing this spider's prey can't read, because this spider's name gives away its secret. Trap-door spiders build burrows that double as slick traps they use to catch a tasty meal. These cunning eight-legged terrors hide at the bottom of the burrow and wait for dinner to show up at its door. Through incredible photographs showing the building and use of these nests, readers explore the world of trap-door spiders and see how they differ from other relatives in the arachnid family."

The next thrilling book in Jennifer Estep’s New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling Elemental Assassin series—“an extraordinary series.…One of the most intriguing heroines in the genre” (Romantic Times Book Reviews). Keep your friends close but your enemies within stabbing distance. One important lesson I’ve learned in the assassination business is that to be the best you have to roll with the punches. Now that I’m queen of Ashland’s underworld—by default, not by choice—a lot more punches are being thrown my way. But I suppose that’s the price of victory for taking down some of the underworld’s top dogs. Good thing I have my Ice and Stone magic to help me survive my volatile new position. Just when I think things are finally settling down, someone tries to murder me during a hush-hush underworld meeting. But the real surprise is how strangely familiar my shadowy assailant seems to be. My job is to maintain order among killers, crooks, and thieves, and soon I’m embroiled in a bloody game where the ability to keep secrets could be the greatest superpower of all. My enemies have all sharpened their knives and laid their traps, waiting for me to fall. But this Spider weaves her own webs of death…

The architects of the arachnid world, these spiders dig a hole using special rake-like combs on their front legs. Then they construct a trap door with silk, often covering it with twigs, dirt, and leaves. Imagine the surprise of passing insects that make the mistake of passing too close to this spiders lair! Spectacular photography and in-depth text bring the world of trap-door spiders to life.

There's a wealth of data online, but sorting and gathering it by hand can be tedious and time consuming. Rather than click through page after endless page, why not let bots do the work for you? Webbots, Spiders, and Screen Scrapers will show you how to create simple programs with PHP/CURL to mine, parse, and archive online data to help you make informed decisions. Michael Schrenk, a highly regarded webbot developer, teaches you how to develop fault-tolerant designs, how best to launch and schedule the work of your bots, and how to create Internet agents that: –Send email or SMS notifications to alert you to new information quickly –Search different data sources and combine the results on one page, making the data easier to interpret and analyze –Automate purchases, auction bids, and other online activities to save time Sample projects for automating tasks like price monitoring and news aggregation will show you how to put the concepts you learn into practice. This second edition of Webbots, Spiders, and Screen Scrapers includes tricks for dealing with sites that are resistant to crawling and scraping, writing stealthy webbots that mimic human search behavior, and using regular expressions to harvest specific data. As you discover the possibilities of web scraping, you'll see how webbots can save you precious time and give you much greater control over the data available on the Web.

Describes various types of spiders, their physical characteristics, their feeding habits, life cycles, and benefits to humans.

A beautifully illustrated guide to the natural history and breathtaking diversity of spiders around the world Spiders are dominant predators in virtually every terrestrial ecosystem on the planet. A marvel of evolution with species numbering in the tens of thousands, they have been walking the earth since before the dinosaurs. Spiders manipulate the silk strands of their webs to act as a sensory field, which vibrates across wide frequencies that they can read in detail, while young spiders spin silk lines that interact with the electrical fields in the atmosphere, enabling them to balloon across huge distances. Some spiders even gather in groups to impersonate ants in astonishing displays of collective mimicry. The Lives of Spiders explores these and other wonders, blending stunning imagery, lively writing, and the latest science to explore the natural history of the world’s diverse arachnid life. Features a wealth of color illustrations Sheds invaluable light on the life history, ecology, and stunning diversity of spiders Covers silk and web building, venoms, predators and prey, mating and dancing, spider cognition, and much more Discusses the impacts of human activity on spiders

A critical evaluation of the role of field experimentation in population and community ecology.