My Digital Photography of
Jumping Spiders (family Salticidae) 1
2005-2007 (Spiders #1-31)
I have always loved jumping spiders. Since I was a child, I noticed that they never bite me---they are one of the friendliest families of spiders I've ever handled. In the late summer of 2005, when I bought my first digital camera, I gained an even better knowledge of their world, when I began photographing them. The following jumping spiders were photographed in the Metro-Detroit area. Most of them are bold jumping spiders, of the genus Phidippus. Other species are labeled, if known. If you know the scientific names of any of the spiders on my page, please e-mail me at kozmic3@yahoo.com. Photographs are sorted so that most recent photos are at the top of the page. Other types of spiders can be seen on my Orb-Weavers and Miscellaneous Spiders Pages.
Click here for info about purchasing prints of these photographs.
I also have photos and a story of one very special jumping spider I called Biglegs.
Click here to read the Adventures of Biglegs the Jumping Spider or click on his picture below.
Click on any photo to see a larger view!
This spider was enjoying the open space in the coves at the edges of the ceiling of the living room. That was until the living room had to get painted---then I captured him and kept him safe until the paint was dry. Then he was released, but didn't like that room anymore and took up residence in the den instead. He was photographed on 11-23-07.
Spider #30 --- "Shyboy"
This spider has lived in my house the last few months although I didn't photograph him until November 23, 2007. He found his way into my home on his own. When I first captured him, his legs were not as long and he didn't have all the tufts. Then he shed his skin and looked totally different, just like Mr. Greenfangs below. This spider has red designs on his back instead of the white ones Mr. Greenfangs has, but his fangs have a bluish hue. He was extremely shy and did not want to be photographed.
Spider #29 --- "Mr. Greenfangs"
I have been keeping this spider as a pet for the last few months---I found him in the house. I finally had a chance to photograph him on November 23, 2007. When first captured, he looked nothing like he does today. He shed his skin about a week ago and all of a sudden, he had huge front legs, just like Biglegs.
I photographed this "moustached" spider on September 9, 2007.
Spider #27 --- "Tufts", possibly Phidippus clarus
I named this spider "Tufts" because of the cute tufts of "hair" on her head. I've never found one of this species before. She has beautiful markings in varying shades of brown. She was photographed on July 25, 2007.
Spider #26---Zebra Spider, Salticus scenicus
Here is another striped spider, like Spider #24. This one was photographed on July 25, 2007. This is one of the most difficult types of jumping spiders to photograph because they are continually on the go. They don't want to pause for a moment. Most of the photos here are actually action shots.
Spider #25
I photographed this spider on June 25, 2007. The white rings on her pedipalps are quite unique.
Spider #24---Zebra Spider, Salticus scenicus
This spider I found on June 24, 2007 has some amazing markings. It was much faster than many I have encountered and would not sit still for a second on one of my nicer backgrounds. I had to photograph it on the edge of a glass because that was the only way I could keep it contained and not lose it while I was trying to focus the lens.
I decided to keep the spider one more day and photograph it on the 25th. I got a few better photos and would have gotten more, but this spider was sneaky---while I was looking at the photos I had taken on the LCD to see how they were turning out, it escaped from the cup (I didn't put the plastic wrap on tight enough and a wind current blew it off). So that was the end of the photo shoot...
Spiders #23+ --- Several Baby Jumping Spiders (Offspring of Biglegs and Speedy)
On May 25, 2007, I came home from work to find that four baby jumping spiders had emerged from the egg-sac that my pet spider, Speedy, laid around April 16, 2007. She had been mated with Biglegs, so these are their babies. I am surprised that there were only four. I thought there'd be a lot more. Also interesting is how their eyes take up almost their entire face. Their spinnerettes are huge in proportion to their body, as if they just can't be made smaller and still retain their function. Also unusual is the fact that their body hairs seem to be the same length as an adult. They must play some important sensory role. These spiders were actually quite large for babies, measuring about 1/16" long. I let three of them go that afternoon after their photo shoot.
I kept one spider overnight so I could take a few more pictures...
Spider #22 --- Tiny Jumping Spider
This tiny spider was super fast and difficult to photograph. It was next to impossible to photograph it on a nice background because it was trying to get away the entire time. The larger jumping spiders are generally pretty cooperative and tend to stay where you place them for at least a few seconds. This spider was just a little over 1/8" long, so it's details cannot be captured as well since it is only about the size of the head of one of the larger spiders. These photographs were taken on 5-13-07.
Spider #21 --- "Midnight Pouncer"
This spider was trying to get into my house from the outside window. I don't know if he smelled the females' pheremones or what, but I hurried outside and got him. To my amazement, he had BLUE chelicerae!!! All the ones I've seen thus far have had green chelicerae. That's why I decided to have part of his name contain the word "midnight". He is also a spider who tends to hop around, rather than walk and run, hence the name "pouncer". Here he is photographed on a tulip on April 29, 2007.
Spider #20 --- "Emma"
On April 22, 2007, I found a female spider that I decided to put in with Biglegs (spider #15). Click here to quick-link to her photo shoot on Biglegs's page.
Spider #19 --- "Parkerina"
On Saturday morning, April 21, 2007, I awoke to find this spider on my bedroom wall. I named her "Parkerina" after the Mr. Meaty episode that was on today where Parker changes into a girl. The name was also appropriate since she has just a tiny bit of a "moustache" like the spider in the background image of this page. I decided to put her with Biglegs Jr. After a few days, they made adjacent resting sacs and seem to like one another. Unfortunately, a few weeks later, she ate him.
When I found Biglegs the Jumping Spider (spider # 15), I thought he was a very unique-looking spider. Apparently, he's not so unique since this one looks almost the same. My dad brought over this spider for me in early April, 2007. I finally had a chance to photograph it on April 15, 2007. The day before, it shed its skin, shown in the first two photos. After shedding its skin, it took on the appearance of Biglegs---cute little white tufts and all, so I decided to name it Biglegs Jr. I photographed this spider on an ammonoid from my Fossil Collection. He was unfortunately killed by Parkerina, the spider above.
Here are a few more photographs of Biglegs Jr. taken on April 21, 2007.
This little spider, photographed on March 13, 2007, was only about 1/4" long, so I wasn't able to capture as much detail. I found it in my bedroom.
This spider lived in my den since somewhere around September, 2006 along with Biglegs. It wandered in on its own without me realizing it. She is especially quick on her feet, hence her name. I ended up mating her with Biglegs (spider #15). Click here to see photos of Speedy.
On September 26, 2006, I found a jumping spider with some of the most beautiful chelicerae I have ever seen. It also had a burgundy-colored head which seems to be kind of rare in my area. Also, it had orange spots on its abdomen, unlike most others I've seen. I ended up keeping this one and photographing it again in February. I had to make a separate page because I took so many photos of him...
Click here to see photos of Biglegs the Jumping Spider.
Spider #14
Here are photos of two different jumping spiders with flies that I photographed on September 10, 2006. I decided to get creative and use one of my rocks for a background. It's hard to get them to stay on the rock though.
Spider #13
Spider #12
I photographed this spider on September 6, 2006. I fed it a fly. I figured it would drop it as soon as I tried to move it to a nice surface for its photographs, but there was no way this spider was letting go of that fly, even after all my poking and prodding to get it to move where I wanted it. I was going to photograph another jumping spider to which I had fed an ant, but the moment I moved its container, it dropped the ant. So not all jumping spiders grip so tightly.
Here is a jumping spider I photographed on August 31, 2006. Brian found it dining on maggots outside. It certainly has a large abdomen compared to others I've photographed. These photos were taken outside on one of my cypress knees.
Here are some photos of another jumping spider I found on August 9, 2006. These photos were taken outside on one of my cypress knees.
Spider #9
I just purchased a Canon EOS 30D and couldn't wait to try out the new equipment. It's obvious I need a better flash, as this photo was taken indoors on an overcast day with the built-in flash. Although with my old camera, this picture of this tiny jumping spider would not have been possible at all. Here's my first spider photo with my Canon from July 30, 2006. This little guy/girl has been living in my house for several weeks and has now inhabited the kitchen and den.
Spider #8
My dad brought this one over to my house for me to photograph on June 3, 2006.
Spider #7
This one was found indoors on June 2, 2006.
On May 27, 2006, I photographed this tiny jumping spider. This one is only about 1/3 the size of the other spiders pictured below. The poor thing was missing two legs, but still seemed to get around just fine.
Spider #5
On May 25, 2006, one of my praying mantis egg sacs hatched. Next to their cage was a type of jumping spider I haven't seen before, so of course, I photographed it. My lens was set to the wrong setting though, so they aren't as focused as I'd like them to be. It is photographed on the bricks of my garage. You can get an idea of its size by comparing it with the strips of mortar.
Spider #4
On April 30, 2006, I found yet another jumping spider. This one was large and very furry. It had cute little tufts on its legs and a burgundy-colored face.
Spider #3
On April 20, 2006, I photographed this jumping spider on my Oriental Lily.
Spider #2
On April 2, 2006, I was lucky enough to find another jumping spider. This one was more of a grayish-black instead of reddish brown. Its fangs are clearly visible in some of the photographs. The fifth picture shows a close-up of one of the fangs while the spider was on its back.
