Zebra Jumping Spider
In all the previous jumping spider pictures I’ve put up, I’ve muttered about the near impossibility of identifying them to species without an expert with a microscope. Well, I’m not going to make that complaint this time!
It’s a Zebra Jumper, Salticus scenicus, probably the most distinctive jumping spider in the central US[1]. Those bold black and white stripes are a dead giveaway. This particular one was hard to photograph, I was chasing it all over the graph paper, the table, and the jar lid that I periodically trapped it under. It would freeze for a few seconds, then suddenly jump a couple of inches, then spin around like crazy, freeze again, then jump again, over and over and over and over[2].
This next one isn’t the greatest face shot (for one thing, the eyes are a bit out of focus), but you can see its little brown fangs gnashing down there at the ends of its black chelicerae (the mouthparts)
They don’t have the big hind jumping legs that other jumping arthropods (like grasshoppers and fleas) often have, and it looks like they probably use all eight of their legs for jumping, starting from a crouch like this:
Their mode of jumping gives them great accuracy. Instead of going for sheer power like other jumping arthropods, which fling themselves into the void to crash down somewhere more or less at random, they look like they jump to exactly where they want to. And where they want to is generally the space occupied by some hapless prey that will probably never have a chance to realize what hit it.
While they use their two main eyes for most of their vision and for pinpointing where they want to land, they do have the smaller lateral eyes, like most other spiders do. These don’t have particularly sharp vision, at least not compared to the big eyes, but they are good for detecting motion. And when they notice something with the little lateral eyes, they can spin quickly to see what it is.
They are amusing and a bit startling to watch, because you can’t really see them in transit from point A to point B. It looks like they are teleporting from point to point, and when they spin around it is with a quick jerk that looks more like a trick of the light than an actual physical object.
And boy, can they be hard to photograph when they are in an uncooperative mood.
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[1] At least, they are distinctive most of the time. I actually think that one that I posted earlier this spring might be the same species, but it was no longer distinctive because it had lost most of its hair while overwintering. There aren’t many white hairs left on it, but the ones that are there have about the same pattern as the Zebra Jumper:
Earlier specimen:
Current specimen in similar pose, for comparison:
That’s OK, though. The current pictures are better than the old ones anyway.
[2] If you remember the Warner Brothers short cartoon “Feed The Kitty”, there’s a scene where the kitten is attacking a ball that is very similar to the way that a jumping spider moves.
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Terrific post and pictures. I’ll be looking a lot harder at my house spiders.
I was thinking that same thing – to their prey, they must seem like Teleporting Spiders. It’s the Angel of Death just suddenly appearing next to you to take you away.
You definitely caught the eyes well enough to differentiate the compound lenses from the simple ones. Another stellar performance by Tim!
I wonder if there is a recovery time required between jumps to replenish the chemicals necessary to trigger another leg spasm. This has got me wondering about the anatomy of their legs and their circulation system.
Awwwwhhh, I love jumping spiders. They are so cute! I always recognize them immediately by their short, jerky movements. And yes, they are very fast. It’s hard to catch them or to find them sitting still once they’ve seen that you notice them. And they always seem to know where to hide right away.
Very nice photos! How did you get the jumping spiders to stay still? Have you experimented with freezing them first?
Thanks. I sometimes put them in the refrigerator to slow them down, but save freezing for a last resort. Mostly, I just clear off a large spot on the table, put down a sheet of paper, and then keep chasing them back to the middle while snapping shots like a crazy person. It generally takes a few dozen shots to be reasonably sure of getting just one or two good ones. Luckily, shooting a lot of images so that 90% of them can be discarded is one thing that digital cameras are really good for.
Here in Ireland I have seen a few very small red spiders (the size of the letter ‘o’ in the word ‘Comment:’ on your web page) that seem to be able to instantly jump at least approximately 10 times, or more, their size in length. It’s the weirdest thing I’ve seen and it almost looks like they are teleporting, for as you say it seems impossible to see them in transit. What amazes me is how such a minute spider can generate the force to jump this distance. Do you know of any videos that have been slowed down so that you can actually see the duration of the jump itself?
Earl:
Good question. Here’s one video that I found on YouTube. It’s even a Zebra Jumper!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKME-bPIp1g
It looks like this one is using the four hind legs for jumping, while holding the four front legs a bit forward for grabbing.
HOW MANY ARE IN THE UNITED STATES AND WHAT STATE DO ZEBRA J. S. LIVE IN THANK YOU FOR YOUR ANSER SINCERELY CUTE ,ASKA
aska:
Nobody has exact numbers for their population in North America, but there are an awful lot of them – somewhere between “billions” and “trillions”. There are probably a few tens of thousands of them just on our 9-acre property. According to Bug Guide’s data page for zebra jumpers, they are particularly common on the east coast, the west coast, the midwest, and most of Canada.
are they dangerous
cesar: No, not unless you are a small insect. I’ve never managed to get a jumping spider to bite me at all. My daughter says that one of the bigger ones bit her once, but that it wasn’t very serious. And these little ones probably aren’t even capable of breaking your skin.