Pest Control and Bug Exterminator Blog

Newly Discovered Spider Named After Obama

Obama Spider (Photo by Jason Bond)

President Barack Obama has earned an itsy-bitsy honor.

Another cool quirk that comes with being the President of the United States… You get a spider named after you. After discovering 33 new species of spiders in the Southwestern United States, researches have named one after President Barack Obama.

This news coming just days after our 44th U.S. President was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.

The newly discovered species, which bears the commander in chief’s name, is called Aptostichus barackobamai. Good luck pronouncing that one, so we will just stick to calling the newly discovered spider the Barack Obama trapdoor spider. This spider is a type of trapdoor spider that is known for burrowing underground and protecting its layer via a trapdoor made of silk.

The 33 new species of spiders were discovered by Auburn University Museum of Natural History and department of Biological Sciences.

Why A Spider?

The Amazing Spider Man and Obama (Photo credit: iamdavidmoore)

There are few details as to why this spider is named after president Obama. Many believe it is because the President is a huge fan of Spiderman in which he once graced the cover.

Not The First Species Named After President Obama

This isn’t the first time a newly discovered species has been named after the President. In 2012, a spangled darter fish was given the official name Etheostoma obama, because of the President’s efforts in the areas of clean energy and environmental protection. Then there’s the recently named and identified “Obamadon,” which is a lizard from the Late Cretaceous era.

President Obama also has dozens of city streets and schools named after him as well. For the complete list, click here.

The Barack Obama Trapdoor Spider: Aptostichus barackobamai

Researchers describe the Barack Obama Trapdoor Spider as one of the most beautiful trapdoor spiders in which they have ever worked with. The spider has gorgeous tiger-striping on its abdomen and measures about 15 millimeters long. It also lacks the spines on its outermost leg segments found on most other trapdoor spiders.

Trapdoor Spiders

Trapdoor spiders are seldom seen because they spend most their lives in underground burrows. As their name suggests, they build protective trapdoors made from soil, sand and silk, in which they hide behind. They will wait at their burrow entrances at night, until some unperceptive insect comes moseying by. The spider then jumps out, biting the unfortunate insect, and then drags it back into the bottom of its burrow.

Other Celebrities With Spider Names

You have officially reached celebrity status when you get a cool spider named after you! Along with President Obama, other famous people have officially reached celebrity status by being having spiders named after them. A few include: Stephen Colbert, Angelina Jolie, and U2’s front man Bono.

For a full list, click here.

Spider Control

As a bug guy I think it’s pretty cool to have a spider named after you; but having spiders inside your home is completely un-cool, especially is they are the dangerous Black Widow or Brown Recluse spiders. If you are seeing spiders, get spider control from Bulwark Exterminating!

Related articles

• President Obama, Meet Spider-Man
• Dave Mustaine Has A Tarantula Named After Him
• Even the president of the U.S. makes time for play

Anthony Ball

Move over raw veggies and iced soy mocha’s, and make way for… BUGS?

Madonna endorses the Flaxseed Diet; Beyonce, the Maple Syrup Diet. Now a few celebrities have come out and admitted to not only eating bugs, but loving them! Could this be the next trend in Hollywood foods?

Celebrities Eating Insects

Angelina Jolie and her family frequently travel the world for vacations and movie shoots. During their travels, Angelina Jolie admits to indulging in local delicacies, which sometimes includes crickets, roaches, and other insects. The actress opened up in a promotional video for Louis Vuitton’s Core Values campaign and said her and her kids fell in love with eating crickets during a family trip to Cambodia.

“The biggest thing actually — to be honest — here in Cambodia is my boys love to eat crickets. It’s their favorite thing. … When I first gave it to them, I thought — I wanted them to understand. Culturally, I wanted them not to be turned off by something that was of their culture. So I bought it and … they ate them like Doritos, and they wouldn’t stop. And they brought to-go boxes home, and I had to actually ban the cricket-eating at a certain point because I was afraid they were gonna get sick from eating too many.”

“They’re good! They are like potato chips,” Jolie adds. “We’ve had ‘the beetle.’ They call it a cockroach; I think it’s more like a beetle. I have yet to have the tarantulas on a stick or spider soup here. It does seem like an odd thing to eat — no, it does! I don’t know if I can get around the fur, but” — she says, with a knowing smile — “you gotta try everything.”

Angelina Jolie and her family aren’t the only Hollywood stars eating insects. Salma Heyak, star of the upcoming movie ‘Here Comes the Boom,’ says she loves eating grasshoppers, ants, and worms.

“We eat bugs and we have many recipes for some of them. Escamoles, which are the eggs of these little ants, are amazing when fried with a little guacamole. And there are many different recipes for worms.”

Entomophagy—The Act of Eating Insects

Eating insects might seem like a disguising act, better left for ‘Bizarre Foods’ host Andrew Zimmern. The truth is Entomophagy, or the act of eating insects, is a way of life for millions of people worldwide. People in less developed countries rely on insects for protein and other nutrients needed for survival.

A History of Eating Insects

Dining on insects is definitely an old practice, dating back to the beginning of man-kind. Ten thousand years ago hunters and gatherers ate bugs to survive. Greek and Roman aristocrats loved to eat beetle larvae that had been raised on flour and wine. The Old Testament mentions ancient Christians and Jews the eating of locusts, grasshoppers, and beetles. Paiute Indians weren’t always hunting buffalo, frequently engaging in Mormon cricket hunts. Fast forward to today. Many types of insects appear on menus, remaining a traditional food in many cultures throughout Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

Insect Cuisine

Thailand

Thailand just might be the insect eating capital of the world. Vendors will sell crispy insects from carts at outdoor markets, and fried crickets are served liked peanuts in bars.

Brazil

In Brazil, içás, or queen ants, are a preferred snack indulged in by most of its citizens.

China

The Chinese munch on a large variety of insects, from water bugs boiled and drenched in vinegar to live scorpions soaked in liquor. Chinese beekeepers will often eat the larvae from their beehives.

South Africa

Insects are commonly eaten with cornmeal porridge. That sounds pretty appetizing.

Japan

The Japanese savor aquatic fly larvae sautéed in sugar and soy sauce. Restaurants all over Japan serve up healthy portions of aquatic insect larvae, boiled wasp larvae, and fried silk moth pupae.

Bali

The people in Bali love to remove the wings from dragonflies, and then boil them in coconut milk with ginger and garlic. Yum!

Ghana

In Ghana during the spring rains, winged termites are collected and fried, roasted, or even made into bread. The termites are high in proteins, fats and oils, all of which are needed for a healthy, well-balanced diet.

Mexico and Latin America

In Latin America ants, fire-roasted tarantulas, and cicadas are common customary dishes. One of the most famous culinary insects in Mexico, the agave worm, is eaten on tortillas and placed in bottles of tequila. Chocolate-covered locusts and candy-covered worms make getting your daily dose of protein oh-so sweet.

Keeping An Open Mind

Most of us here in The United States are turned off at the thought of eating insects. There are even shows like ‘Fear Factor,’ where contestants regularly gag down creepy crawlies in order to win. With most of the world’s population dining on insects, and now Hollywood celebrities recommending eating them, should we be keeping more of an open mind? I for one am not in any hurry to pop a handful of fried cockroaches in my mouth, but maybe I’m in the minority.

What’s the best tasting insect you’ve eaten?

Related articles

• It may be hard to stomach, but you probably eat bugs in your food and don’t know it
• Pass Me That Bowl of Maggots, Will You?
• Buggie About Bugs