Beautiful little spider
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
October 1, 2011 3:25 pm
I’ve just spent about the last half hour or so observing this charming little character, which looks to be some sort of jumping spider, but is quite different from the majority of jumping spiders I see around here, which are identified on your fine site as Bold Jumping Spiders. However, I notice you’ve also said this species has a tendency to have a lot of different color morphs, so I am not sure if they are the same? The gold stripes look very metallic.
He(?) seems to have unusually mobile and dextrous pedipalps( is that the right word? Little not-quite-leg things in front of his face), which he was using to repeatedly wipe his eyes and feel the ground in front of him, which made me wonder if something( dust? Sunlight?) was causing an eye irritation. What do you think?
Signature: An Aspie Arachnophile
Dear Aspie Arachnophile,
You have sure done your research. As you indicate, the Bold Jumper, Phidippus audax, has great variability in its coloration. We did locate a photo on BugGuide that is identified as a Bold Jumper with atypical coloration that looks just like your individual. Since you have indicated that you see Bold Jumpers, we can confirm with a degree of certainty that this is also a Bold Jumper. Pedipalps is the proper name for the appendages you mention. We do not believe that dust or sunlight is bothering this spider’s eyes, but the spider might have been grooming.