We fear the unknown, but when we learn about whatever scares us, the fear goes away. Problem is, most people don't go to the trouble to learn about spiders. Needless to say, we had a difficult time picking the winners. We especially liked Jeremy's story because it showed the importance of the role parents play in dispelling fears. He is very lucky to have a mom who finds spiders so exciting.
Many parents unwittingly instill a life-long, irrational fear of spiders in their children.
So Jeremy will have a species of ground spider named in his honor. Describing new species of spiders is a long process, and it will be quite some time before the name is published in the scientific literature. In the meantime, we would like to invite Jeremy to visit the American Museum of Natural History the next time he is in New York. My name is Jeremy Falling. I had an aunt that would get crazy if she even saw a spider.