Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Daring Jumping Spiderlings

Note: I'm referring to these spiderlings as female by default because I'm unable to determine the sex.

1. This young Bold Jumper (Phidippus audax) was hunting inside a large bush that must have seemed enormous to her! She has white abdominal markings now, but will develop orange ones after a few molts, and then will regain the white markings in adulthood. Her "knees" are still reddish-brown, her palps are small and black with some red coloring on the top half, and her chelicerae are also small and dark, lacking the furry, iridescent green appearance of an adult. I wonder if she's an offspring of Wallis?

Calculating a jump...

2. A similar specimen, but on a somewhat less daunting plant (pokeweed). Her attempts to stab insects proved unsuccessful, owing to her tiny size. You'll notice her "face" (where the front eyes sit) has more of an iridescence than Specimen #1. The abdomen and carapace have shiny scales/hairs as well. Her palps appear to have some hairs on them. She could possibly be another offspring of Wallis.


References:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/470718#819420

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