Was out tidying around the HVAC unit today and came upon a new-to-me teeny critter!

Luckily I had my camera handy, so discovered this quick little spidey, which I think is a male Pike Slender Jumper (Marpissa pikei)? I've never seen a jumping spider like this one. How wonderful!

Please zoom in to see the wee fella. He didn't let me get a second shot.

#nature #photography #arachnids #jumpingSpiders #Texas

I rescued a jumping spider about half the size of a Rice Krispie from the pool today. I thought I was rescuing a moth, but the poor moth had already drowned, & the spider was using it as a life raft—he was so miniscule, I didn’t realize he was there at all. I caught some barely perceptible movement & looked very, very closely, & he waved his TINY TINY TINY legs at me so FIERCELY! I set the net* on a nearby shrub & he SPROINGED off it & ran away. OMG, the cuteness. #BugsOfMastodon #JumpingSpiders

An ant has captured a plant bug (family Miridae) to take back to her colony.

#DailySpiderPic #arachnids #spiders #Salticidae #AntMimic #JumpingSpiders

I did some more research, and I think Maia is actually a Platycryptus Californicus or "California flattened jumping spider!" The distinctive leaf-shaped pattern on her back is the giveaway. Despite the name, these do range all the way up to BC. https://inaturalist.ca/taxa/228315-Platycryptus-californicus/browse_photos #spiders #arachnids #JumpingSpiders #MaiaTheJumpingSpider

Something really neat I noticed while Maia was hunting is that she seemed to time her movements so that they perfectly coincided with the fly’s movements. My theory is that the fly’s movement would cause her own to blend into the background.

Jumping spiders move in super-fast, short movements; so fast that their limbs seem to teleport from one position to the next, as you can see in this slo-mo I took of another spider. #spiders #arachnids #JumpingSpiders #MaiaTheJumpingSpider

I decided to stop recording while Maia hunted, because I (selfishly 😜) wanted to get a better view of the show without being distracted by the camera. Within about 2 or 3 minutes, she had stalked the fly around the terrarium until she was just 3 or 4 body lengths from the fly, and pounced. The fly struggled, but Maia had a firm grip and the fly had no chance. She then retreated behind the bark wall to eat her meal. #spiders #arachnids #JumpingSpiders #MaiaTheJumpingSpider

I’d been trying all week to figure out what Maia liked to eat, but she hadn’t touched anything I put in there. Today I captured a couple green flies—I stunned them with a quick visit to the freezer, then clipped their wings to make them a bit easier to catch (she was looking pretty thin and I wasn’t sure yet about her hunting skills). It was clear within seconds of closing the lid that she was *very* interested in this new meal! #spiders #arachnids #JumpingSpiders #MaiaTheJumpingSpider

I took this video on Maia’s first day. Before taking this video, I’d been watching her try unsuccessfully to climb the glass, and realized that I hadn’t put enough branches in for her to climb on (jumping spiders like to be up high). I put some more tree stuff in, and recorded this while I waited for her to discover the newly added terrain #spiders #arachnids #JumpingSpiders #MaiaTheJumpingSpider

I say “her”—I’m pretty confident she’s a female “platycryptus undatus” or “tan jumping spider.” The name seems to be a bit of a misnomer, since they do come in grey as well. I’m pretty sure she’s a female because from what I’ve read, all the males of this species have orange on their head and she does not. #Spiders #Arachnids #JumpingSpiders #MaiaTheJumpingSpider

Say hello to my new friend, Maia! I found this tiny little jumping spider in my bedroom this week and decided to adopt her 😊. I built her a terrarium using stuff from my yard, and she’s now been living in my office for the past few days. #Spiders #Arachnids #JumpingSpiders #MaiaTheJumpingSpider

A hunter stalks the blackberry jungle.

#spider #spiders #arachnids #arthropods #jumpingspiders #photography #plants #nature

I'm very proud of this spotting: _Attidops youngi_, a jumping spider with only 3 #iNaturalist observations in Canada and 8 total!

:inaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/161517842

#DailySpiderPic #ArthroBeauty #arachnids #spiders #JumpingSpiders #Salticidae #macro

A Second #MacroMonday Treat, the Twin-flagged Jumping Spider, #Anasaitis canosa, a common species often found around dwellings.

#FujiFilm X-S10, #Laowa 65mm #macro
South #Georgia

#macrophotography
#Spiders
#JumpingSpiders
#NaturePhotography

this :inaturalist: observation from Indonesia of a _Rhene_ jumping spider on a blunt-headed slug snake's head, just because https://inaturalist.org/observations/86030605

by fhadlikennedi (CC-BY-NC)

#ArthroBeauty #snakes #herpetology #spiders #JumpingSpiders #Salticidae

A (very cute) jumping spider #lifer from yesterday's walk! Anyone recognize it? Maybe a juvenile Phidippus clarus or one of the EMPPs (https://bugguide.net/node/view/1182999/bgpage)?

:inaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.ca/observations/154645677

#DailySpiderPic #arachnids #spiders #Salticidae #JumpingSpiders @bugid

"You seem to have a fly on your shoulder. Hold still. I'll get it."

#spiders #arachnids #spider #nature #photography #macrophotography #jumpingspider #jumpingspiders

🌟 Considering a Spider as a Pet? Here's How to Prepare https://www.pawssnouts.site/2022/12/considering-spider-as-pet-heres-how-to.html #ExoticAnimals #101 #exoticanimals #jumpingspiders #newpet

💡 Considering a Spider as a Pet? Here's How to Prepare https://www.pawssnouts.site/2022/12/considering-spider-as-pet-heres-how-to.html #ExoticAnimals #101 #exoticanimals #jumpingspiders #newpet

Considering a Spider as a Pet? Here's How to Prepare https://www.pawssnouts.site/2022/12/considering-spider-as-pet-heres-how-to.html #ExoticAnimals #101 #exoticanimals #jumpingspiders #newpet

#MiteMonday: What's their album called?

A zebra jumping spider (Salticus scenicus) crosses paths with a tiny clover mite (Bryobia sp.) on a tree trunk. Photo from back in May.

#DailySpiderPic #mites #Mitestodon #Salticidae #JumpingSpiders #spiders