Do Jumping Spiders Make Webs? Uncovering the Truth

Jumping spiders are known for their incredible jumping ability and unique hunting tactics. These fascinating creatures differ from many other spiders’ species in several ways. Their most distinguishable feature is their excellent eyesight, which allows them to spot and track prey effectively even from a considerable distance UMN Extension.

While spiders are generally known for their elaborate webs, jumping spiders do not make webs to capture food. Instead, they use their exceptional eyesight and agility to stalk and pounce on their prey Wisconsin Horticulture. Their hunting style makes them beneficial as natural pest control agents as they help reduce the population of insects like flies and mosquitoes without creating bothersome cobwebs Menemerus bivittatus and Plexippus paykulli.

Jumping Spiders: An Overview

Family Salticidae

Jumping spiders belong to the family Salticidae, which is known for being the largest family of spiders, with over 6,000 species identified worldwide. These spiders are visually distinctive, exhibiting diverse colors and patterns.

• Colors: Jumping spiders can display vibrant colors such as black, orange, or white.
• Patterns: Some species have unique markings, like the Bold Jumper Spider’s irregular orange to white spots on its abdomen source.

Largest Family of Spiders

The Salticidae family dominates the spider world, comprising about 13% of all spider species. To put this into perspective:

This immense diversity enables jumping spiders to be found in various habitats, from gardens to forests.

Colorful and Active Hunters

Jumping spiders are renowned for their exceptional hunting abilities, aided by their large middle eyes, which provide them with excellent vision. These spiders are active hunters, relying on their sharp senses and movement rather than webs for capturing prey.

• No webs for capturing prey: Jumping spiders do not spin webs to catch food.
• Acute vision: Their large middle eyes enable them to see objects up to eight inches away.
• Jumping ability: As their name suggests, they have remarkable jumping skills, allowing them to quickly pounce on unsuspecting prey.

Overall, jumping spiders are fascinating creatures that exhibit diverse colors, impressive hunting skills, and form the largest family of spiders. These agile arachnids are an essential part of ecosystems and provide unique insights into the world of spiders.

Anatomy and Vision

Eight Eyes and Color Vision

Jumping spiders have unique vision thanks to their eight eyes. With large middle eyes, they can see objects up to eight inches away. Their color vision is impressive, allowing them to perceive colors like humans.

Some key features:

• Eight eyes play a crucial role in the hunting process
• Exceptional color vision enables them to detect prey and mates

Abdomen and Spinnerets

The abdomen of jumping spiders houses the spinnerets, which create silk for various purposes. Spinnerets are small, tubular structures on the spider’s abdomen, and they are crucial for spinning silk.

Characteristics of the abdomen and spinnerets:

• Abdomen is typically rounded
• Houses spinnerets
• Spinnerets produce silk

Silk Glands and Spigots

Jumping spiders have silk glands, which produce silk that is used to make safety lines, nests, and wrapping prey. Silk is released through tiny organs called spigots, located on the spinnerets. Although jumping spiders don’t build webs like other spiders, they still use silk in their day-to-day activities.

Silk glands and spigots features:

• Produce silk for safety lines, nests, and prey wrapping
• Spigots located on the spinnerets
• Silk is not typically used for web-making

Jumping Spider Webs and Silk

Silk Production

Jumping spiders, like other spiders, produce silk from specialized glands. They use their silk for various purposes, such as:

• Creating safety lines, also known as draglines
• Constructing nests for resting, molting, and egg-laying

Types of Silk

Spider silk is impressive due to its:

• Strength: It is stronger than steel of the same diameter
• Elasticity: It can stretch several times its original length

Jumping spiders produce different types of silk, which serve different purposes. Examples include:

• Dragline silk: Used for safety lines and anchor points
• Cribellate silk: Some species use this silk, which has a wool-like texture, to build sticky webs

Web Architecture

While jumping spiders can produce silk, they typically do not make webs to catch prey like other spiders do. Instead, they rely on their excellent vision and agile movements to hunt down their prey.

In summary, jumping spiders utilize various types of silk for different purposes, but they typically do not construct webs to capture their prey. Their silk is notable for its strength and elasticity, and serves functions such as providing safety lines and creating nests.

Habitat and Behavior

Diverse Habitats

Jumping spiders can be found in a wide range of environments, from vegetation and wood piles to rocky areas and even your sock drawer¹. They thrive in various habitats because they are highly adaptable and can easily adjust to different living conditions.

Predators and Prey

Jumping spiders are opportunistic predators, which means they consume a variety of prey based on availability¹. Some examples of their prey include:

• Insects
• Other spiders
• Small arthropods

In turn, jumping spiders have their own set of predators, such as birds, larger spiders, and reptiles.

Unique Hunting Techniques

Unlike many other spiders that rely on webs for capturing prey, jumping spiders utilize an active hunting approach¹. They are known for their exceptional vision, which allows them to:

• Observe potential prey
• Measure distance and plan their jump accordingly

As part of their hunting technique, jumping spiders employ silk as an anchor line during ambushes¹. However, they generally don’t spin elaborate webs as other spider species do.

Table: Comparison of Jumping Spiders and Web-spinning Spiders

Did you know? The Bagheera kiplingi is a unique species of jumping spider known for its vegetarian diet. It feeds mainly on Beltian bodies, which are nutrient-rich structures produced by certain species of Acacia trees².

Notable Jumping Spider Species

Phidippus Audax

Phidippus audax is a common and conspicuous jumping spider often referred to as the “Orchard spider.” It has distinct markings: a black body with an irregular orange to white spot on its abdomen. This spider can be found in gardens and around homes, making it a familiar sight for many people.

Hyllus Giganteus

Hyllus giganteus is another species of jumping spider, though not as well-known as Phidippus audax. These spiders are larger compared to other jumping spiders and are known for their impressive size and bulging eyes.

Peacock Spiders

Peacock spiders are a group of species belonging to the genus Maratus within the jumping spider family. They are renowned for their bright colors and elaborate courtship displays. Male peacock spiders often exhibit colorful, patterned abdomens, which they display during courtship dances to attract females.

• Some common features in jumping spiders:
  • Large, forward-facing anterior median eyes.
  • Do not build webs for prey capture.
  • Exceptional vision.
  • Quick and agile movements.

Interactions with Humans

Harmless but Fascinating

Jumping spiders are generally harmless to humans, as they rarely bite and are not considered dangerous. They are known for their excellent vision and remarkable agility, making them fascinating creatures to observe.

• Features:
  • Excellent vision
  • Agile and fast movement
  • Rarely bite humans

Preventative Measures

To prevent jumping spiders from entering your home and becoming a nuisance, you can take the following steps:

• Seal cracks and gaps around doors, windows, and other openings.
• Sweep away or relocate webs and spiders found near your home.
• Keep your living space clean and free of clutter that would provide hiding spaces for spiders.

Pros of preventative measures:

• Reduce the number of spiders in your living space.
• Minimize the risk of encountering a jumping spider while indoors.

Cons of preventative measures:

• May require time and effort to maintain a spider-free environment.
• Potentially lose out on the benefits of having spiders, such as natural pest control.

Reproduction and Spiderlings

Mating Dance

Jumping spiders, specifically Phidippus regius, exhibit a fascinating mating dance to attract their potential partners. Males use their brightly colored bodies and elaborate movements to impress females.

Offspring Development

After a successful mating ritual, female jumping spiders lay eggs in a protective silken sac. Soon, the eggs develop into tiny spiderlings that resemble miniature versions of adult spiders. Some noteworthy features of spiderlings include:

• Eight legs
• Eight eyes
• Small size
• Similar appearance to adults

Here is a brief comparison of jumping spider spiderlings and adult jumping spiders:

As spiderlings grow, they molt multiple times, eventually reaching their adult size and gaining their vibrant colors. The jumping spider’s life cycle from mating dance to spiderling development is an intriguing aspect of these visually-adept arthropods.

Reader Emails

Over the years, our website, whatsthatbug.com has received hundreds of letters and some interesting images asking us about these insects. Scroll down to have a look at some of them.

Letter 1 – Mermithid Worm parasitizes spider

spider with HUGE “parasite” (worm)
Hi. I sent an email several weeks ago (4-8 weeks) re: a spider with parasite. At the time, I was having problems with my internet service….so, I want to resend the email just in case you never received the original. Thanks for your advice/information about “my parasite problem”. July 2007-I saw what I thought was a fire ant in my basement living area (we do have problems with fire ants) because its abdomen was so large. I tried to catch the ant, but it was too fast. It jumped out of my bug catcher as quickly as I got it in. To say the least, he died. It scared me to death when he jumped out…..I thought he was going to sting me. I reacted……but anyways…….As I was doing research (to see if this large red ant was a fire ant), I noticed its intestines MOVED! After a couple of minutes, I realized that this was not the ant’s intestines…….it was a “worm” (parasite)!!! Sorry-no pictures that day! 2 weeks later, I was sitting in the floor in my living area of my basement. Low and behold, I seen a “worm” stuck to the bottom of my entertainment center with a dead ant next to it (I included pictures). I could see where the parasite had “busted” out of the ant’s abdomen. The “worm” was dead (dried up-guess it didn’t find a host in time).Attached is 2 pictures The last straw…….about 2 months ago, a huge Wolf spider ran towards my living area in my basement. I sprayed it with bug spray, and almost immediately, I saw a big “worm” bust out of the spider’s abdomen and begin to wriggle around looking for a host. I took many pictures and even a video (will try to send if I can figure out how to make smaller). 4 pictures are attached My concern is this……are we being attacked by parasites? I have 2 small children (ages 2 & 5) that both suck their thumbs. Do we have a parasite problem that needs to be dealt with? Is this common to see these parasites? Are they any harm to humans? Thanks so much for your help!!!!
Monica Lain
Nashville, Tennessee

Hi Monica,
We found a website entitled The Worm, the Spider and the Coffee Cup that discusses the Mermithid Worm as an internal parasite of spiders. Here is a quote from the site: “Mermithid worms are internal parasites whose infective larvae enter spiders directly or via ingested food. Once inside the spider, the tiny worm obtains nourishment from it’s hosts body fluids, digestive glands, gonads (‘parasitic castration’) and muscles. As a consequence the spider becomes progressively more debilitated, but doesn’t actually die. This is because the spider’s vital organs usually remain intact, even though all of the abdomen, and occasionally part of the cephalothorax, may be filled with worm coils. Eventually in a scene reminiscent of the movie “Alien”, the gorged worm bursts out of the body of the debilitated spider, which finally dies after this macabre event. Before it dies, however the spider often has to perform one more task for it’s deadly parasite. In some mermithids, the final free-living stage of the worm is aquatic, so that it is advantageous for the worm if its emergence can take place near a water body – a pond, a creek or puddle. To increase this likelihood, such worms seem able to induce their hapless hosts to seek water, spiders sometimes actually walking into the water before the worm emerges. This behavior may result from thirst-induced activity as the worm consumes the spider’s body fluids. Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that the spider’s water seeking behavior helps to ensure the parasite’s survival and propagation.” We also located a technical paper online. Nothing indicates the parasites are interested in your children.

Letter 2 – Male Common Hentz Jumper

Spider? with long front legs
May 27, 2011
Dear what’s that bug?,
First of all I want to thank you for being such a knowledgable resource. You have helped me several times with some bizarre looking insects. Here is my resent encounter with what seems to look like some type of spider? I was sitting under a tree and all of a sudden this critter showed up on my canvas. I tried to get him off with trying to coax him on to a piece of paper. To my shock he must have springs in those legs. He was just hopping. It was quite humorous, because he would looking right at me while I was trying to catch him. I will admit he was creepy with the legs in the front being longer. I also noticed that he seems to stand tall with threatened and isn’t afraid to lunge at you. Every time he looked up his bottom would seem to turn sideways. He did jump producing a string, I’m not sure if all arachnids do.
Thanks again!
Sincerely,
Jennifer
from coastal North Carolina

Hi Jennifer,
This is certainly a Jumping Spider in the family Salticidae, though we have our doubts that we have properly identified the species.  Your individual greatly resembles images of Bagheera prosper that are posted to BugGuide, however, BugGuide indicates its range as being “Texas and south into Mexico.”

Update:  November 14, 2015
In researching a newly submitted Jumping Spider, the Common Hentz Jumper, Hentzia palmarum, we were able to finally put a species name to this old submission.

Letter 3 – Magnolia Green Jumper

Bright Green Spider
Location: Orlando, FL
March 24, 2011 8:16 pm
I’m not sure if I identified this spider correctly, but is it a Magnolia Green Jumper. I am an arachnaphobe normally, but this one intrigued me so I was able to take a couple of photos with my phone. I could swear it stopped to stare at me.
Signature: Desiree

Hi Desiree,
Your photo is quite blurry, but this may be a Magnolia Green Jumper, Lyssomanes viridis, which is pictured on BugGuide.

Letter 4 – Magnolia Green Jumper

Subject:  Charming lime-green jumping spider
Geographic location of the bug:  Pinellas, FL
Date: 05/03/2019
Time: 03:48 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hello! I found this charming lime green spider a few days ago, at school on a handrail underneath an oak tree. At the time I found him, it was a early summer day, very hot. After a little bit of spider-chasing, I had him on my hand. He didn’t seem that scared, and was quite interested in my phone, which he attempted(and succeeded), on multiple occasions, to jump onto. I’m writing this right when I have access to the internet again!
This charismatic little spider was about as big as the nail on my thumb, and moved in quick bursts. It was fond of jumping, which was odd because the only thing that resembled that of the jumping spiders i’m familiar with is the face. I considered keeping him for a little while just to look at him and study his feeding behaviour, but I thought that would constitute as arthropod kidnap and I thought he’d like his tree a lot better. I let him go back on the trunk of the oak tree(which was a bit hard, since he was very interested in my upper arm), so he wouldn’t be squashed by passerby.
How you want your letter signed:  Chance Arceneaux

Dear Chance,
This little beauty is a Magnolia Green Jumper, Lyssomanes viridis, and she is actually a female.  The Magnolia Green Jumper is a species with pronounced sexual dimorphism, meaning the male Magnolia Green Jumper looks like a very different species.  Here is a BugGuide image of the male.  Though we question how many passersby would have even noticed her, we are nonetheless tagging this posting with the Bug Humanitarian Award as an acknowledgement of your concerns.

Letter 5 – Red Jumping Spider

Who is this spider?
I found at least half a dozen of these spiders tucked under the rims and between the sections of some plant 6-packs in which I’ve got seeds planted. The packs are in flats resting on the ground in the garden. This spider is about an inch long; some of the others looked smaller. The web is very white. I’m in Glendale (Los Angeles) California. From general body shape and hairiness I suspect a jumping spider, but couldn’t find any pictures of one with this lovely orange color. (Your fall 2005 web page was down when I went looking for a picture.)
Thanks.
Sallie

Hi Sallie,
This is one of the Red Jumping Spiders in the genus Phidippus, probably Phidippus formosus. These are hunting spiders who do not build webs to trap prey, but adult females, according to Hogue, “construct a funnel-like web that is usually in contact with the soil; this structure is used as a retreat for the adults and a safe repository for the eggs.”

Letter 6 – Probably Pike Slender Jumping Spider

Subject:  What’s this bug
Geographic location of the bug:  Michigan in dune grasses near small inland lake.
Date: 06/30/2018
Time: 03:16 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Duo you know what it is? Some type of water scorpion?
How you want your letter signed:  Matt Maier

Dear Matt,
This is a Jumping Spider in the family Salticidae, but we have yet to identify the genus or species.  When we have a spare moment, we will browse through BugGuide and attempt to identify the species.

Update:  December 29, 2018
Thanks to Barbara for identifying this Pike Slender Jumping Spider, Marpissa pikei, which is pictured on BugGuide.

Letter 7 – Jumping Stick from Patagonia, Argentina

Jumping stick from Patagonia, Argentina
February 7, 2010
Hi!
I´m sending pictures of this funny member of the Proscopidae family I found among dry sticks on coastal dunes near Las Grutas, Rio Negro, Patagonia.
It was a perfect stick and it would be impossible to find it without a small jump he did when I walk close to it.

Still trying to find its genus or species identification
Even I´m reading several bugs site as much as possible, your site is the only one I´ve been visiting every day for years!
Thanks for your amazing work. You are sharing the most unvisible beauty of the Nature
Mirta

Happy New Year Mirta,
It is nice to hear from you again, and also to hear how much you appreciate our website.  This is an entirely new family for us, and we needed to do a bit of research to verify that it should be categorized with the grasshoppers on our website.  Like common grasshoppers, this Jumping Stick is in the Order Orthoptera, and the Grasshopper suborder Caelifera, but then the divergence happens.  The family Proscopiidae is new to us.  We crosschecked the taxonomy on Wikimedia with BugGuide to come to that conclusion.  The infraorder Acrididea includes the other grasshoppers,  but the superfamily Eumastacoidea does not seem to be represented with North American species, though BugGuide does have a mention of a fossilized member of Proscopiidae that was found in Brazil.  According to Encyclopedia.com, there are about 100 known species in the family and they are all endemic to South America.

Your photos are a wonderful addition to our website, and we eagerly await additional information either from you or our readership as to the genus and species of this fascinating creature.

Letter 8 – Male Magnolia Green Jumping Spider

Subject: Spider I’ve never seen!
Location: Sugar Hill, GA
June 26, 2014 7:25 am
Hello Bugman!
First of all, love the site. I visit often as I am absolutely fascinated by bugs 🙂
I’m wondering if you can help ID this spider. I found it by my front door late this (summer) morning. I live in Georgia, northeast of Atlanta, and have never seen a spider like this one. I tried to ID it on my own, to no avail.
Please help! My 3 year old daughter and I would love to know what it is.
Thanks!
Signature: Sarah W

Dear Sarah,
This is a Long-Jawed Orbweaver in the family Tetragnathidae, and it is most likely in the genus Tetragnatha, but we cannot say for certain which species.  You can compare your individual to this image on BugGuide.

Correction:  May 29, 2020
BugGuideThanks to a comment from Alan, we can now correctly identify this male Magnolia Green Jumping Spider which is pictured on .

Letter 9 – Magnolia Green Jumper

Green Spider
Location: Alabama
May 10, 2011 3:10 pm
Found this little green spider today and have no clue as to what it might be, I have compared it to so many different pictures but can’t seem to nail it. Have any clue? I keep running into some sort of jumping spider doing research. What was amazing is how the color of this little one really allowed me to follow the movement of his darker eyes and could tell he was watching me. A little cutie but what is it? Thanks!!
Signature: Libby

Hi Libby,
Your email did not indicate which Jumping Spider you kept “running into” while doing your research.  Perhaps that is because this is a Jumping Spider in the family Salticidae, more specifically, the Magnolia Green Jumper, Lyssomanes viridis, a Southern species profiled on BugGuide.

Letter 10 – Magnolia Green Jumper

Subject: Magnolia green jumper?
Location: Chincoteague Island, VA, USA
June 19, 2013 4:26 pm
Came across this gorgeous little creature last week, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. My best guess is that he’s a magnolia green jumper, but the photos I’ve found online didn’t seem conclusive. Your thoughts?
Signature: Sterling

Dear Sterling,
We agree that this is a Magnolia Green Jumper, Lyssomanes viridis.  Compare your image to this photo on BugGuide.

Hi Daniel,
Thanks very much! I hadn’t come across that BugGuide photo in my own searches, but that’s definitely him. I appreciate the help!
Sterling

Letter 11 – Magnolia Green Jumper

Subject:  Green spider
Geographic location of the bug:  Pensacola Florida
Date: 04/25/2019
Time: 08:23 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Sitting at the dog park watching my pup chase squirrels and this little guy landed on bench next to me.  Very cool looking but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like it here on the gulf coast.  Any idea what kind of spider this is?
How you want your letter signed:  Cristal

Dear Cristal,
The Magnolia Green Jumper is a vividly green, native species, and you can verify its identity thanks to this BugGuide image.  Like other Jumping Spiders in the family Salticidae, the Magnolia Green Jumper is considered harmless to humans, hunts its prey rather than building a web to snare prey, and has excellent eyesight.

Letter 12 – Male Common Hentz Jumper

Subject: Macro Photo of Unknown Insect
Location: Bala Cynwyd
November 12, 2015 4:58 pm
I found this little guy on my neck in a vacant apartment.. it looked like a very strange spider. Ive never seen anything like it!
Signature: Dylan D.

Dear Dylan,
We have successfully identified your male Jumping Spider from the family Salticidae as a Common Hentz Jumper, Hentzia palmarum, based on images posted to BugGuide.

Letter 13 – Male Magnolia Green Jumper

Subject: Little green spider that runs and jumps
Location: North Florida, about halfway between Jacksonville and Tallahassee, right on the Georgia border
May 16, 2014 6:37 pm
Found this little guy on a camping trip last weekend. He runs around pretty quick on the ground, and jumps a pretty good distance. He was super tiny; the white thing he’s standing on is a plastic cooler, and the little dark specks around him are grains of dirt. I don’t think he builds webs. We kept an eye on his location and kept checking up on him every few hours; he didn’t move from the top of this cooler until after more than a day. From what I’ve read, it sounds like some sort of crab spider, but I haven’t found one with such a slender thorax and such large, strange-looking mouthparts. Any idea?
Signature: Danny

Hi Danny,
This magnificent spider is a male Magnolia Green Jumper, Lyssomanes viridis, and you can compare your individual to this image on BugGuide.  This close-up on BugGuide is quite impressive.  The female Magnolia Green Jumper is a much bulkier spider with smaller mandibles.

Letter 14 – Magnolia Green Jumper

green spider
Hello,
I found this guy by my house door yesterday. He is about the size of a dime and very fragile. Tried looking for a name and had a hard time finding one. I think he is a green lynx spider, but the images I have seen show them as pretty large. Any clue?
Aaron Ansarov

Hi Aaron,
This is a Jumping Spider known as the Magnolia Green Jumper, Lyssomanes viridis. Your copyright information has all but obliterated the magnificent large jaws of this male specimen. The common name arises from this spider’s habit of waiting for prey while resting on broad green leaves like those of the magnolia.

Letter 15 – Non-Native Jumping Spider from Hawaii

Hasarius Andansoni
September 30, 2009
Okay, so I did send this little woman in for identification, but I went further and started to look more on my own. This is a female Andanson’s House Jumping spider. It took me a while to find because it isn’t a native species, but rather has been imported from somewhere in Asia. (I am not sure where specifically.) I don’t really expect you all to post this, but I figured you might like the photograph of this little spider to be identified, and seeing as to how you don’t always have the time… (Kudos for all that you do identify, not really sure how you do everything that you do.) Thanks for your time, and of course I shall be continuing to follow this page for anything unidentified to try and help out where I can.
Lttlechkn… Tina
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

Hi Tina,
We always say that getting our attention in the subject line is key to getting us to read letters.  That holds especially true for scientific names that we do not recognize.  With that said, we are thrilled to post your photo of an exotic Jumping Spider not endemic to Hawaii.  While we do not feel we have the necessary skills to accurately confirm or deny your identification, we can correct an error in your typing of the scientific name.  The genus name, or first name in the binomial, is capitalized.  The species name, or second name in the binomial, is always lower case.  Thanks so much for your submission and also your persistence in resubmitting your image with an identification.

Letter 16 – Passionflower Flea Beetle stalked by Jumping Spider

Subject:  Orange bug I’ve never seen
Geographic location of the bug:  Lee county, Kentucky
Date: 06/17/2019
Time: 11:41 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I’ve never seen this bug before and couldn’t find it online anywhere.  Just curious, really.
How you want your letter signed:  C. Abner

Dear C. Abner,
We are amused at your image of a Passionflower Flea Beetle being stalked by a Jumping Spider.  According to BugGuide:  “Larvae and adults freq. found on Passionflower (Passiflora).”

Letter 17 – Probably Bold Jumper

Subject:  It looks like Lucas the Singing Spider
Geographic location of the bug:  Livingston Parish, Louisiana
Date: 04/20/2019
Time: 05:32 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  My daughter and I found this cute little guy on our siding. All of him could fit on a dime without falling off. Any clue what species he is? I THINK jes a jumper but I’m not sure. His fur is what caught my eye. He literally turned and watched us both to see us from different angles. He was just as curious about us as we were of him.
How you want your letter signed:  Jackie and Sophie

Dear Jackie and Sophie,
This is indeed a Jumping Spider in the family Salticidae, and as you observed, they have excellent eyesight.  Because of the green chelicerae, we believe this is a Bold Jumper, Phidippus audax.

Letter 18 – Red Jumping Spider

spider
I live in Hollywood CA. and saw this spider I think Hes a jumping spider but am unsure please tell me what he is.
Brad

Hi Brad,
This looks like a Red Jumping Spider, Phidippus formosus.

Letter 19 – Red Jumping Spider

Looking for help with this one. Love the site!
I’ve tried to find a spider like this one (attached) on your site but didn’t see anything like it. Felt a tickle on my hand today while laying in my deck chair. Saw this little guy and had to take a snap shot. He moved very fast so it was hard to grab a good pic. Any ideas? Jumping Spider? These pictures were taken in Victoria British Columbia on Vancouver Island.
Best Regards,
Ryan Leinweber

Hi Ryan,
This is a Red Jumping Spider in the genus Phidippus, possibly Phidippus formusus. In Eric Eaton’s opinion: “The male jumping spider is probably a different species, probably Phidippus clarus, or P. johnsoni.”

Letter 20 – Regal Jumper

Spider
Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 7:34 PM
This spider was spotted out in the middle of the afternoon on 10/28. When i was trying to take his picture he retreated into what seemed to his home. I found it unusual that he had no web and but rather a cocoon like house. I have tried looking through different Florida Spider web sights and field guides but thus far have been unsuccessful in identifying it. I would really appreciate your help. Cheers!
Erin A.
Pine Island, SW Florida

Hi Erin,
Several days ago we posted images of a Regal Jumping Spider, Phidippus regius, in and out of its tent. That photo was a different color variation of the species, and your photos are a wonderful addition to our archive of this variable species from Florida that builds a retreat for itself when it needs shelter or when it is threatened.  There is a slightly darker version of your individual’s pattern posted to BugGuide, and you can also see the great variety of colorations and patterns for this species.

Letter 21 – Regal Jumper

Fat Spider
Location: Patriots Point, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
April 7, 2011 8:11 pm
Hi Bugman,
While removing a mailbox post we unearthed this chunky spider. It scared Robby, who had the hammer. I managed to grab my camera and snap a few pics before relocating it to a dense shrubby forest.
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Signature: Simply Bananas

Dear Simply Bananas,
This is a Jumping Spider in the family Salticidae, and it appears to be a Regal Jumper, Phidippus regius.  The Regal Jumper has several common and some uncommon variations, and your specimen is a very close match to this image posted to BugGuide from Florida.  Jumping Spiders are considered harmless to humans.  They have excellent eyesight and they stalk their prey as opposed to snaring prey with a web.

Letter 22 – Red and Black Spider from Papua Indonesia

Glossy Red and black spider from Papua highlands
Location:  Tembagapura, Papua, Indonesia
October 2, 2010 10:08 pm
We see these small spiders with a red cephalothorax and upper half of legs and glossy black abdomen and lower half of legs around the house here in the highlands (2500 meters) in Papua, Indonesia. Any ideas what they are?
Signature:  Kevin

Dear Kevin,
This is one awesome looking spider.  We want to GUESS that this might be a Cobweb Spider in the family Theridiidae, the same family that includes such black and red poisonous spiders as the Black Widow from North America and the Red Back Spider from Australia.  Red and Black are codified warning colors in the insect and bug* worlds, and that warning is generally poison.  We hope our readership will come to our rescue with the name of this begloved she-beauty.

* Ed. Note: Bugs are loosely defined as “Thing That Crawl” in Daniel’s new book The Curious World of Bugs.

Update
Hi Daniel,
Thanks – I think you steered me in the right direction.  I’m going to guess this is in the Nicodamidae family which was split out of the family Theridiidae (according to what I can find on some Aussie web sites) about 15 years ago.  The Australian Red and Black spider (not to be confused with the Red Back) looks almost identical to mine and is a member of this family.
This one has a body length of 8mm, and from what I can tell looking at pictures would appear to be a female.
Regards,
Kevin

Thanks for writing back Kevin.  As you did not provide a link, we searched and found the family Nicodamidae on the Spiders of Australia website and there were photos of Nicodamus peregrinus, which looks very close to your specimen.  The webpage indicates Nicodamus peregrinus can be found in Eastern Australia, and that “The family Nicodamidae consist of nine genera with 29 descibed species, all living in Australia, one in New Guinea and one in New-Zealand.”  The Esperance Fauna website also devotes nice coverage to the family Nicodamidae.

Sorry for not including the links – yes, those were the sites I found most helpful also.
Cheers,
Kevin