Samuel John

Natural History. Spiders. Ecology. Filter Coffee.

[Roundglass Sustain @RGSustain1]

Script: Anirudh Nair @anirudhcn / RoundGlass Sustain
Video: Amit Kalra @asaranshk / RoundGlass Sustain

To learn more about these tiny but tenacious carnivores, check out a photo story by Samuel John @Sambarjohn here: https://t.co/XWyWAmA5ok

[Roundglass Sustain @RGSustain1]

“From spiders in garbage cans to weaver ants in beer bottles, resourceful little invertebrates had upcycled human garbage into something useful for themselves.”

Full photo story: https://t.co/20yb4q8OaB

Text and photos: Samuel John
@Sambarjohn @SpidersATSea

#upcycledhomes

[Spiders And The Sea @SpidersATSea]

Our base for the next ten days is green with a large expanse of blue. Birds, butterflies and plenty of bugs! #LianaForestFarm is the perfect summer oasis.

[Spiders And The Sea @SpidersATSea]

Towering trees and termite cathedrals. Sallying drongos and chatty treepies. Death's head hawkmoth caterpillars and elephant emperor dragonflies. How far out of the city did we have to go to find all of these beauties? Just a bit further from the 'Esteem Mall' in #NammaBengaluru

[Roundglass Sustain @RGSustain1]

Parasitoid wasps deposit their eggs in or on another organism. The eggs develop into hungry larvae that feed on the host from the inside, eventually consuming and killing it.

Read Samuel John’s piece on the parasitoid wasps here: https://t.co/5bIQpmuNl5
@Sambarjohn

[Spiders And The Sea @SpidersATSea]

Folks! After a wonderful weekend exploring Lal Bagh, we are all set for our next set of walks.
Tucked away in South Bengaluru, Puttenahalli Lake is a small yet thriving lake ecosystem that was brought back from the brink less than a decade ago by the @pnlit.blr+

[Samuel John @Sambarjohn]

As an Indian, my entire life has just been preparation for your little game @nerdlegame

[Krishnapriya Tamma @priya_tamma]

We're learning about fig fig-wasp mutualism in class, so few students & I went to the nearest fruiting fig tree. When we opened one of the fruits we saw many wasps! Most had long ovipositors, so I'm thinking they are not the mutualistic ones? @figinavig #figs #wasps

[Samuel John @Sambarjohn]

@ithinkbiology @venadavenu @BioTicks Not many know us to be a social bunch; just ask @DivsBu , we often do brunch. #WaiterTheresASpiderInMyMimosa

[Spiders And The Sea @SpidersATSea]

📢BENGALURU/BANGALORE FOLKS📢 We're launching our first in-person programs this month.
URBAN NATURE WALKS FOR BEGINNERS!🐞🐛🕷🦅 We hope you can join us as we finally step outside and explore the wildlife in our city! Come along with your friends & family, this'll be fun🙃

[Spiders And The Sea @SpidersATSea]

As a result of using up larval silk in the nest construction process, weaver ant larvae develop into “naked pupae”. In their naked pupal form, weaver ants are best pictured as albino versions of worker ants, doing six-legged demonstrations of the foetal position. +

[Roundglass Sustain @RGSustain1]

Where does the twig end and the #spider begin? #Poltys and #Cyphalonotus spiders spend the day masquerading as leaves, twigs or even dried seeds. Discover these stunning spiders in this photo essay: https://t.co/W3jqo2XLqB

@SpidersATSea @Sambarjohn

[Spiders And The Sea @SpidersATSea]

Thoroughly enjoyed snorkelling in fresh water for the first time!

[Roundglass Sustain @RGSustain1]

Did you know #seahares have both male and female reproductive organs? They form mating chains, where an individual plays the role of a male to the individual in front of it, and the role of a female to the sea hare behind it! Footage: @Sambarjohn @SpidersATSea

[Samuel John @Sambarjohn]

@shashwatdc @venadavenu @DivsBu This little spider is an orb-weaver, very politely demonstrating how one builds a textbook orb-web. For some impress-the-kids material, may I shamelessly recommend https://t.co/d9kkfq6joN

[Spiders And The Sea @SpidersATSea]

Mid-week rainwashed hues.

[Spiders And The Sea @SpidersATSea]

Medieval European literature (influenced by references from religious texts), often similizes weakness and fragility of character with spider webs. This spider web casually grooving to a rainy night might suggest otherwise. Might go re-read @TheRiddleAges paper now.

[Samuel John @Sambarjohn]

Lessons in leveraging surface tension from a diving beetle! @SpidersATSea

https://t.co/N2EVHTfXRQ

[Spiders And The Sea @SpidersATSea]

It's a spider-eat-spider world! A jumping spider (possibly a female Carrhotus viduus) sits quietly on a Calotropis plant enjoying its morning meal. Meal = tiny crab spider! Yes, spiders prey on other spiders in this complex web of life. +

[Spiders And The Sea @SpidersATSea]

To commemorate #Spiderweek, we decided to go on an adventure. Our adventurous trail of choice was the road we take every day to buy milk and vegetables. Today we stumbled upon this gentle giant on a hibiscus bush.+