Miscellaneous Jumping Spider Photography by Kozmic Dreams

My Photography of

Miscellaneous Jumping Spiders

Most of the spiders I photograph are Phidippus audax, Platycryptus undatus, and Salticus scenicus. This page is for spiders of other types. If you know the names of any of the species photographed below, please e-mail me at kozmicdreams@yahoo.com and I will give you credit for the information on this page.

Spider #13, Species unknown

July 14, 2022. I took lots of photos of this colorful spider. I thought it looked interesting when I found it on one of my blackberry plants in the garden, so I brought it in to photograph. Because it was only a little over 3/8" long, I couldn't even see that it had red-orange and blue markings on its face until I started taking the photos. It was very active and I could only get a couple photos of it on the flowers I originally planned to use for the photo shoot. It was easier to photograph on rocks, but even this was still difficult because the spider kept trying to crawl underneath the rocks and hide.

Spider #12, Species unknown

January 16, 2019. Lyle pointed out this tiny 1/4" long spider on the kitchen ceiling. It was a species I have never photographed before. It was a very fast runner and I could only capture photos when it paused for a moment before running again, so nothing fancy for backgrounds---just a piece of white matboard.

Spider #11, Species unknown

July 31, 2019. This spider was only about 3/8" long. I found it the west-facing bedroom. I didn't realize how interesting it was until I started photographing it. I really liked its fluffy yellow pedipalps and rust-colored patterns on its abdomen. The other unique feature was that rather than jumping out of my hand, like most jumping spiders do when I'm trying to catch them, this one kept jumping into my hand! It was a very jumpy spider in general, preferring to jump everywhere rather than walk.

Spider #10, Species unknown

October 6, 2019. Conservancy Farm Preserve. Not macro.

Spider #9, Species unknown

September 23, 2018. Oak Openings Metropark in Swanton, OH. Not macro.

Spider #8, Species unknown

June 2, 2018. When I saw this spider inside the house on the fern by the kitchen sink, I knew it was something different because of the stripes on its abdomen. It's a tiny spider, only about 1/4" long. I like its fluffy pedipalps. It is photographed on a peacock feather, white mat board, lemon button fern, and an African violet blossom.

Spider #7, Species unknown

June 4, 2017. This spider was on a buckthorn leaf at Woodland Hills Nature Park. I didn't have my macro lens, hence the bad photos. I've never seen this species before and wasn't able to easily identify it.

Spider #6, Species unknown

May 21, 2017. This spider was on the wooden overlook platform at Eddy Discovery Center at Waterloo State Park. I have never seen this species before and wasn't able to easily identify it. The last photo shows it with a pair of mating fireflies. Sorry the photos are lousy, but I didn't have my macro lens.

Spider #5, species unknown

September 21, 2016. Photographed on the flowers of my Echeveria Topsy Turvy. I found this spider in my house, and released it again after its photo shoot. The coolest thing about it was that it behaved similarly to Spider #1, in that it was amazingly friendly---when I presented my finger, rather than backing away, it hopped right on!!! This is totally contrary to the behavior of wild Phidippus and Platycryptus, who are always freaked out at first by contact with human skin.

Phidippus johnsoni

I found this beautiful spider at Somme Prairie in Illinois on July 4, 2015. It is the first one of this species I have ever photographed. Unfortunately, I did not have my macro lens with me.

Spider #3 and #4, species unknown

I found these two spiders courting on my window screen near the moss garden. I photographed them on June 24, 2012. They look similar to Spider #2, were only about 1/4" long, and were very fast and wouldn't stay in one spot for more than a second, making for a very challenging photo shoot.

Here is the female...

Here is the male...

Spider #2, species unknown

This little jumper was by the kitchen sink. I photographed it on June 15, 2011 and released it outside. It was very fast and difficult to photograph. Most of these photos are not as good of quality as I would have liked. toward the end of the photo shoot, I couldn't figure out why the spider would not stay on the piece of wood and kept trying to crawl down onto the green placemat. When it finally made it onto the placemat, I saw that it had caught a fruit fly that must have escaped onto the table when I was feeding my other spiders that day.

Spider #1 "Popcorn", species unknown

I found this spider on the wall in the family room in early September, around the same time as my baby Platycrypti emerged out of their sac. I thought it was one of those that escaped somehow. I didn't realize until it had gotten older that it was definitely not a Platycryptus. I don't know what kind it is, but the shape looks female. She is amazingly friendly---if I present my finger, rather than backing away, she hops right on!!! Her jumps are teeny-tiny and reminds me of popcorn popping because she kind of hops up as she jumps, so that is what I named her. Very cute. Here she is photographed on September 26, 2010.