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Spiders!Spiders!There is something magical about spiders that evoke a combination of fascination and horror in people of all ages.  Although there are more spiders than all vertebrate species combined, spiders are relatively poorly known and needlessly feared.

Dr. Linda Rayor will talk on ""A romance with spiders: Spider biology and behavior" this Saturday, September 17th at the Museum of the Earth's Natural History at Noon series.

Spiders are primarily solitary, often cannibalistic, voracious predators that are the most important terrestrial predators on earth.  Yet 1% of spiders are highly social, living in large groups characterized by tolerance and cooperation.  Even in the most social spider species, individuals must balance the benefits of group living and the strong compulsion to eat irritating colleagues.

In this talk, Dr. Rayor will discuss how she came to combine romance with spiders and aspects of their unusual sex and predatory lives.  An instructor of Spider Biology and Insect Behavior at Cornell University, Dr. Rayor studies the spiders that were the stars of the movie 'Arachnophobia', and due to her influence, Cornell University has the highest per capita tarantula population of anywhere but the University of Texas where the tarantulas walk onto campus themselves.

Natural History at Noon is from Noon to 1pm at the , located on the campus of the Paleontological Research Institution at 1259 Trumansburg Road/Route 96 in the Town of Ithaca. The Museum can be visited via TCAT bus Route #21 weekdays and Route #19 on Saturdays.

For more information please visit www.museumoftheearth.org or call 607-273-6623, Ext. 33.  The Museum of the Earth is part of Ithaca's Discovery Trail (www.discoverytrail.net).  Hours: Monday - Saturday 10am to 5pm, closed Tuesday, and Sunday 12pm to 4pm.

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