Macro photography enables us to venture into strange otherworldly realms populated by fantastic creatures and terrifying monsters.
This post is dedicated to one of my favourites, the jumping spider. These small spiders are active hunters, not using silk to build webs or traps, they stalk and pounce upon their prey. Their four forward facing eyes are large and well developed for judging distances, another four eyes located on the sides and back of the head serve primarily for spotting movement of predators or prey.
These large eyes and general fluffyness make the jumping spiders the cutest of all the arachnids!
I've made most of these pictures into links that will take you to a larger version of them on my 500px portfolio!
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This "desert", is in reality a wooden frame that had been brought in from outside carrying a 2mm long passenger.
On a tile in the entrance way, keeping the shoes safe from harm.
The largest jumping spider in this post at about 10mm.
Also, in the entranceway of the house.
The bright white hair on the palpi, before the fangs, are often used by jumping spiders to communicate with each other. The palpi of males is larger and more complex as in addition to acting as a combination of lips and hands, the males also use it somewhat like a syringe to deposit sperm into female spiders. Even more information about palpi.
Spider sex is really weird.
Here we can see the lateral and posterior eyes.
One great part of these spiders being so small, the black and white spider (Salticidea) was actually on the ceiling.
While they can be found in houses, they are most likely to be found, if you can spot them, outdoors.
This little red head had just finished dining on an aphid. Like most spiders, insects that we find to be pests are their primary food source.
I was very happy to find the spider above; I had spotted one before and it took an entire year of looking to find another. However, now I can find them more easily as I amm more familiar with what type of habitat they prefer.
This tiny little one about 2mm prefers dry leaf litter and twigs, making it easiest to spot in the spring when most plant shoots are still small and sparse. They are there in the summer, but they have many more places to hide!
The same area also had a veritable teddybear of a spider:
Though they appear fluffy and cute, their personality is much like a leopard: using the high vantage point of the twig to spot prey below:
At times they can be bashful:
One of my first pictures of a jumping spider, I've been a fan ever since!
I hope you too are now a fan or at least more understanding of our oft maligned tiny jumping friends.
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Next time, I'll explore some of the monsters of this tiny realm!
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