Subject: Spider in Greenhouse
Location: 78634, Texas,
April 6, 2016 8:28 am
Good day wonderful bug folks. Keep up the good work! I saw a small spider on my greenhouse frame (inside the GH) last night and tried taking a picture. It kept hiding and is upside down in the pic now since she poked out her head from the aluminum frame and I just quickly snapped a pic.
Last year we had a fist sized hole in the ground just outside the greenhouse and I always thought I saw a rather large black arachnid rush in there whenever I approached. Not sure
Signature: Sandy
Dear Sandy,
This fierce predator is a harmless Jumping Spider in the family Salticidae, and the green chelicerae indicate it might be a Bold Jumper, Phidippus audax, a highly variable species with an extensive range. Here is a nice image from BugGuide. BugGuide also has a nice page illustrating the variability within the species. Jumping Spiders do not spin webs to trap prey. Instead, they use their excellent eyesight to locate prey, stalking it if necessary, and then pouncing, often from a considerable distance, when they strike.
Awesome! I was wanting to surprise my relatives when they visit that we have not just Rattle and King snakes but Tarantulas but hey, jumping spider is just as good 🙂
thanks so much for being bug friendly and educating people that bugs are good for you and not need to be squashed!
The next cool thing I found was a praying mantis on the GH door (see attached)!
With an utter invasion of lady beetles and other critters we went from aphids everywhere to ZILCH! wuhu! Even the milkweeds are almost free!
So cool to live here :)))))
You guys rock!!!!
cheers
Sandy