Alvin Blogs: Jumping Spider Goes to a Photo Session

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Jumping Spider Goes to a Photo Session

Jumping spiders live all around us. In fact, there are more than 4000 different species of jumpers.

The jumping spider can jump 20 to 60 or even 75-80 times the length of their body. If you were just five feet (1.5 m) tall and could jump like that, you could leap over the Buddha statue in Japan which is 328 ft (110 m) tall (one of the world’s tallest statues).

When a jumping spider is moving from place to place, and especially just before it jumps, it tethers a filament of silk to whatever it is standing on. Should it fall for one reason or another, it climbs back up the silk tether.

All jumpers have eight eyes, and two of the eyes seem enormous for such a little body. Jumpers have a superb vision which is better than any other kind of spider. With his eight eyes a jumper can see in almost every direction at once. When it is darkest, you are looking into its retina and the spider is looking straight at you.

Jumping spiders are also very famous for their curiosity because jumpers in contrast to other arachnids are seemingly interested in whatever approaches them. If approached by a human hand, instead of running away to safe place as most spiders do, jumpers will usually leap and turn to face the hand. Further approach may result in the spider jumping backwards while still eyeing the hand. The curious little creature will even raise its forelimbs and “hold its ground”.

Their big eyes are so sharp, they can see things clearly from as far away as 20 times the length of the spider’s body. No wonder, scientists who study jumping spiders say they’re some of nature’s best stalkers – as good as lions and tigers. They usually see their prey before their prey sees them!