This is a female Phidippus audax (family Salticidae), also known as the Daring Jumping Spider. These are commonly found in and around homes catching various prey. Salticids are active hunters who do not make webs; they use their silk as safety lines in case they miss a jump. You can easily recognize this species because they are relatively large (most salticids are quite small while this species can be around 1/2 inch) and both sexes have bright blue or green chelicerae.
Photos from Thomas Shahan, one of my favorite Flickr streams.
Their eyesight is exceptional, as you might guess from their large frontward facing eyes (four more are on top of the head). Not only does this make them agile predators, they also rely on sight for sexual selection. Similar to many birds and mammals, the male jumping spiders are often more elaborately colored than the females because she is choosing her mate based on his beauty and dance performance.
Wow, these pictures are really something. Spiders are not a favorite of mine, but I am working really hard to get over my fear of them! (not sure if looking at these photos helped or not??!! Ha!)
ReplyDelete~Michele
What beautiful eyes.
ReplyDeleteSo, are those the little freaky things I find on walls around the house? Daring and jumping, yes indeed. I don't recall them being that large, perhaps a cousin?
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