![]() ![]() In 1866, one of his pioneering investigations-this one related to botany-successfully extracted a coloring agent from the madder plant which was later identified as alizarin and widely adopted as a stain for biological research. Despite these unlikely circumstances, Fabre's intellect, enthusiasm and hard work earned him enough respect to eventually be offered a teaching position as professor of physics and chemistry at the lycée (regional government secondary school) of Avignon, where he complemented his teaching with an indefatigable dedication to scientific research and field biology. And as he spins out meticulously gathered spider minutiae to his readers, Fabre transfixes with prose that evokes-in its own 19th century style-some of the best in Attenborough-type accounting of nature’s astonishing dramas and quirks.įabre likely came to his dedication for bringing science to the people by virtue of his experience as a largely self-taught scientist-born to a poor rural family in the Languedoc region of southern France, his formal schooling was choppy, and much of what he learned in math and science derived from self-study with books borrowed surreptitiously from the classrooms of kindly school masters. yes, wolf spiders have a venomous bite that can paralyze and eventually kill small rodents and birds no, garden spiders do not repair broken webs, but save their energy and silk for creating new ones when existing ones are damaged beyond usefulness). Presenting observations gathered first hand from the field over years, his account educates with carefully documented detail about the hunting, reproductive and early life survival strategies of his spider subjects (e.g. The rest of Fabre’s book presents a close look at Lycosa narbonensis (wolf spider), and other eight-legged creatures-the common garden spider, crab spider, & labyrinth spider among them-found in the sun-scorched hills around Fabre’s home in Avignon, France. No better way, we say, to cast light into the deepening gloom of late fall by sharing some of the lovely sparkle of this fun gem.įor those more interested in robust scientific investigation of actual spider behavior than local spider folklore, continue reading and you’ll quickly also get what you came for. ![]() And finally, there’s a happy coincidence: While preparing to celebrate said new installation, we stumbled across a wonderful old book by French science educator and naturalist Henri-Jean Fabre that gives us a look at some great 19th century science writing. Second, we've just opened the new exhibit Arachnophilia in the Mann Gallery that showcases the work of Cornell arachnologist Linda Rayor and aims to demonstrate just how fascinating and helpful this much maligned class of animals can be in the web of life on earth. First, of course, we're a life sciences library at a university with a world class entomology department. ![]() Again, you say?! Yes, it’s true, our blog of last October was also creepy spider-focused, and we realize we may be looking a wee bit fixated on arachnids in seeking out our seasonal Halloween thrills. ![]() It's late October, and our Vaults of Mann focus turns to. ![]()
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