2 posts tagged “imy”

We had a cold and snowy new year's eve and woke up to windows covered with intricate ice crystals.  The pattern looks a little tropical, but the temperature never made it above 20°F (and the wind chill kept it feeling like single digit temperatures).

Ice Crystals

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I relocated a spider from the kitchen to the outdoors a couple days ago.  I was fascinated by its appearance, so I took some pictures.  During (and after) the photo shoot, the spider exhibited some amazing qualities.  I put the spider on the porch railing, and I was a little surprised the first time I saw it jump.  The second time I saw it jump was a little more disturbing, as I was taking a macro shot and concentrating on the image in the viewfinder when suddenly the spider leapt right at the camera lens.  Fortunately I managed to hold on to the camera and the spider wasn't able to establish a grip on the smooth camera, so it fell back on the railing.

Once I was done with the photo shoot I transferred the spider to a plant next to the driveway.  It promptly spun a thread, rode it down to the driveway, and started walking towards my (bare) feet.  I moved out of its path and it stopped, turned, looked up at me, and again started walking toward my feet.  We repeated this dance about five times.  It was a little freaky.  Eventually I stepped farther away and it took a path off into the plants.

After a little searching on the web, I identified the spider as Phidippus audax, or the Bold Jumping Spider (audax is Latin for "daring" or "audacious").  Very aptly named.  I also learned that they can jump 7-10 inches (pretty impressive for a creature that's only 1/2" in size) and have some of the best vision of the arachnids.

Some additional info and photos can be found at:

• Hartman Prehistoric Garden
• BugGuide.net

Bold Jumping Spider

Bold Jumping Spider chelicerae

Bold Jumping Spider from above