Portrait of a Jumping Spider

Aaron Muderick

This common jumping spider (Fig. 1) was one of the last above-ground arthropod survivors I discovered this past season. I found him near the doorway of my home on 4 December 2005.  He was cold and immobile. I captured him with ease and brought him indoors.

He was placed on an upside-down maple leaf, and, as he warmed to the indoor air, he began to come alive. I had about 3 minutes to capture this shot before the warmth of the house, the incessant camera flashes, and the indoor cats sent him jumping out of frame. He was recaptured with the help of my daughter and allowed to return outside, where, no doubt, he perished in the cold of early winter.

This specimen was about 6 mm (1/4 inch) in length. You can use the veins in the maple leaf for a size comparison.

As you might be able to surmise from the striking eyes in the photograph, jumping spiders use their excellent eyesight to identify prey at a considerable distance. Then, with their spring-like physique, they pounce to capture and consume their prey. A jumping spiders like this one can leap10 times its body length in a single bound. That would be equivalent to an 18-meter (60-feet) long jump at the Human Olympics. 

There are over 300 species included in the genus Sitticus to which this spider belongs. Although I'd love to have an exact identification, I don't have the proper reference materials at hand to make an exact ID. Perhaps a reader of The Citizen Scientist reader can venture an educated guess? (Readers, send your ID nomination here. Editor.)

This photo was taken at ISO 100 using a Canon Digital Rebel XT and a 100 mm macro lens with 25 mm of extension. Exposure was 1/200 of a second at f/16. I use a Canon Macro Twin-Flash for up-close lighting of macro subjects. The image was processed in Adobe Photoshop for color balance, curves, and brightness tweaks.

See more of Aaron's nature photography at http://www.flickr.com/photos/amuderick/. Editor.

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