Friday, September 7, 2012

Peekaboo, I see you!

From my previous posts, you may have guessed that crab spiders (Thomisidae) are my favorite spiders.  However, I have not been posting much about my second favorite spiders: the jumping spiders (Salticidae).  

A jumping spider on a hollyhock stem.
Most of the time, as I approach a crab spider it will just sit still on a flower, or even sidle underneath the flower to hide.  In comparison, jumping spiders are much more interactive.  Although they may initially go into hiding, they frequently will peek back out and watch me with their large eyes.

A jumping spider watches me from behind a rose hip.
The spider in the picture below was especially bold.  It watched as I wiggled my finger back and forth in front of it.  Knowing that they are good jumpers, I had tried to keep my finger a safe distance away.  Nevertheless, before I knew it, the spider had disappeared from the post and reappeared on my finger.  Instinctively, I shook my hand, and the spider landed back on the post.

A jumping spider briefly watches my finger before jumping onto it.
If you would like to watch a jumping spider watching you (without the danger of it jumping on you), take a look at the video below.

* To see this video in high definition (1080p), you may need to (1) click "YouTube" to watch on the YouTube website and (2) change the settings at the bottom of the video screen.

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