Watch a kitten taking on a remote-controlled spider in a spooky showdown. (The music is the perfect touch.)

According to the video's YouTube description, our feline friend and her foe have since become friends: "The kitty and the spider have become best friends. She is now sleeping and cuddling with the spider."

The Cat Lover's Tip of the Day If you suspect your cat has been bitten by a spider, take her to your veterinarian's office or an animal emergency clinic for an evaluation. If possible, capture the spider and bring it along so your veterinarian will know what kind of spider bit your cat.


This can help speed up treatment. Your cat may receive muscle relaxants and pain relievers to ease her symptoms. She may also receive intravenous fluids
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The mystery of how the white picket fence structures appeared in the Peruvian Amazon in June has been solved.

They are the work of a tiny spider that builds it webs on trails lined by cecropia trees in Tambopata National Reserve, Peru.

Researchers had no idea what was making the unique webs until a tiny orange spider hatched from an egg next to them. Arachnologists and entomologists are now working to identify which species the spider belongs to.

Although the spider looks similar to a jumping spider, experts have ruled this out because the arrangement of the eyes were different between the families.

This latest discovery was made by wildlife photographer Jeff Cremer during an eight-day-long expedition to the reserve.


He found that the spider species makes a central tower on a tree trunk and forms a circular fence around the outside.

At the base of the tower, the spider lays its eggs. Cremer and his team said they only realised this was the case when one of the spiders hatched and appeared from the bottom.

The first of the structures was spotted in June by Troy Alexander, a graduate student at Georgia Tech.

Alexander discovered the bizarre formation on the bottom of some blue tarpaulin close to the Tambopata Research Center, in southeastern Peru.


He then found three more of the enclosures on tree trunks in the jungle, and told Wired.com that the fences measured around two centimeters across.

To discover what the structures were, or which creature had made them, Alexander posted pictures on various websites asking for any detail that could explain their origin.

Phil Torres, a biologist from Tambopata, posted a link on Twitter to the pictures, equally baffled as to their origin.

Cremer, 35, is from Pueblo in Colorado, but has lived in Peru for nearly eight years. He said: 'We were there on a scientific expedition to find out what was making these strange web structures.


'This was the first expedition to find out what they were. We were able to find out what was making the web structures when some of the eggs inside the towers hatched and a tiny spider came out.'

As well as trying to determine the species, researchers still want to discover why the spiders build the structures, and what they are used for.

'We think the walls may be used to capture tiny mites that we found,' continued Cremer.


'Either that or it may be to provide protection from ants with a barrier to keep them away from the tower structure where the eggs are kept.

'The web structure could also be used as camouflage since it resembles fungus and lichen. What we do know now is the base of the tower contains spider eggs.

'Similar structures have been photographed only twice before and both in South America - once in Ecuador and another time in French Guiana.'
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"I nearly fell over when I saw its white head," Mark Harvey, senior curator at the Western Australian Museum, said via email.

The newfound trapdoor spider isn't a true albino, since it still has some pigment—its body is brown, like those of other trapdoor spiders.

But the 1.2-inch-wide (3-centimeter-wide) arachnid has been dubbed the albino trapdoor spider until it's formally described as a new species.

A person in a small town in western Australia found the strange-looking spider near his house, captured it in a jar, and sent it to the museum.

"Unfortunately we know nothing about its life history. We presume that they live in burrows for their entire lives—like all trapdoor spiders—and when males mature, they wander in search of females in their burrows," Harvey said.

Spiders That Pop Out for Prey

Trapdoor spiders get their name because they use soil, vegetation, and silk to construct doors to their burrows that are hinged with silk. The arachnids then pop out when they feel the vibrations of passing prey, which include insects, other arthropods, and small invertebrates.

The spiders also mate inside the burrows, where "males of all species probably have to lift the female body up to access her genital opening, which is located on the underside of the abdomen," he said.

The newfound spider is considered rare, Harvey added—it's currently the only known specimen of its kind.

"Spiders are a diverse group of animals that fascinate and terrify many people," though they're crucial in keeping insect populations in check, he said.


Article by Christine Dell'Amore (NG)

Grandmother spider is a wise old teacher and weaver of many stories. Her unique tapestry of life offers many paths to the center of oneself and creation. Her medicine speaks of connections and unity of spirit.

Spiders are light, delicate and not hostile to humans unless threatened. To those who require this special of the spider, it teaches us to maintain a gentle and kind nature.

A poisonous spider signifies death and rebirth. As the poison of age and life's perils threaten our life, we use the venom to ward off future attacks or die.

The spider's web connects itself by silky threads to physical objects creating a net creating its home and place for harvesting food. The web reminds us of our connectedness to all things on earth - that we are related to everything in creation. The spokes of the web remind us to build links between ourselves and the Creator and all things.

When the spider appears, it is a sign to connect with the ways of spirit in the ways designed by the Creator.

The eight legs of the spider are unique from other insects who have only six legs. And unlike other insects, their bodies are divided into two parts instead of three. Two represents unity and a union of polarities.

In American Indian tradition, the first dream catcher was made by Grandmother Spider to catch the bad dreams of children. This legend reveals our belief that negative elements of ones life may be screened out if we remember to keep the links between the Creator and ourselves strong and to always remember that all things in creation are one.