Category: Jumping Spiders
Tiny Jumping Spider Makes Lunch of Another Spider
This tiny little jumping spider I noticed on my deck. It has caught something, but I could not make out exactly what. The size of this spider was so small that I could only really notice details at magnification but it appeared to be perhaps another spider that had fallen prey to this little powerhouse arachnid. In any case whatever it had caught I am pretty sure to him it was just called lunch.
*update
Thanks to TurnFear2Fascination on twitter for the ID on this spider as a Salticus species! According to others who have viewed the photo it does appear to be another spider that has ended up as meal for this little guy. I often witness jumping spiders making prey of other spider species. Sometimes I will even witness some jumping spiders plucking at other spiders webs seemingly trying to entice its potential meal out. Of course interactions with these spiders happens so fast it is often hard to have a camera at the ready. These jumping spiders in particular are hard to capture as they are so extremely small. To give context to size this one that is photographed is on the arm of a deck chair.
My What Big Eyes You Have
One feature all jumping spiders is that two of their eyes (Spiders have more than two) are very oversized. This gives jumping spiders a cuteness quality that is not always observed in others spider species. Of course these eyes serve a purpose helping the spider track and ambush its prey. Some Jumping spiders such as the Portia jumping spider (who feeds on other spiders) are observed carefully examining their environment to plan their attacks.
Jumping spider are truly fascinating predators of the garden and there are no shortages of shapes and sizes of them to observe.
Cellar Spider VS Jumping Spider Interaction
I had been noticing this jumping spider hunting near some cellar spiders. I have witnessed both these spiders take down other spiders in the past. Having witnessed these cellar spider VS jumping spider interactions before, they always had seemed to result in a stalemate. I came back later to find the jumping spider being wrapped up in the cellar spiders web. Whatever conflict had happened now seemed long finished and the cellar spider had its next meal. However, these jumping spiders are resilient, and this one was not about to let that happen.
After some time I noticed the jumping spiders leg start moving. It is hard to say if the wrapped arachnid had taken a bite or not but it seemed to suddenly spring to life. After it cut through the web it quickly escaped the situation. The jumping spider left the area soon after seemingly none the worse for the encounter although decided against round two.
Jumping Spiders and Cellar Spiders both Accomplished Spider Hunters
I was a little frustrated having missed the jumping spiders attack. I have witness jumping spiders pulling apart other spiders webs to get at them. They are obviously extremely formidable spiders in the arachnid world for other spiders to contend with. Likewise the delicate looking cellar spider is often underestimated but is a superbly established spider hunter itself. These I have witnessed capturing such large prey such as the Giant House Spider Eratigena atrica. Cellar Spiders use their long legs to throw large amounts of webbing over their opponents subduing the often stronger more powerful adversary. They then move in close to the leg or other area to inflict a bite and inject venom. Cellar Spiders are often considered a great benefit to people as although they consume a large amount of prey, they are completely docile to people.
It was a lucky and amazing experience to witness these two top arachnid predators interacting like this, hopefully there will be more interactions to witness in the future.
