If stuffed toy makers made spiders, they would be Jumping Spiders. Although these fuzzy little spiders are quite small, their large peering eyes on a fuzzy flat face are instantly appealing. They are often patterned in black or dark brown and white, and may have vivid iridescent patches. These small furry spiders have short legs and seem to sit in a very upright stance, peering with their pair of large central eyes and six smaller ones. If you get the impression one is watching you, it very probably is. These spiders have keen eyesight and follow the movements of small insects, or even the tip of a pencil intently.
Jumping Spiders get a meal by watching all that goes around them with keen-eyed interest. When a likely meal gets close enough the spider pounces onto the hapless victim. When Jumping Spiders leap into the great unknown to escape from danger or just to get from A to B they lay out a silken dragline while they leap. If they need to, they can reel themselves out of ‘hot water’.
Males approach females carefully and usually perform an elaborate dance, waving legs around semaphore fashion – symmetrically or even symmetrically, hopping about and even making little clicking sounds. If the lady is impressed the male may approach her.
You can find Jumping Spiders just about anywhere - plants, windowsills, and fences are good places to look. They jump away quickly when disturbed, so even if you didn’t get a close look, you can tell a Jumping Spider by its impressive leaping ability. There are about 25 species of these little cuties in Alberta.
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Jumping Spider Family Behaviour
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Jumping Spider Family Sounds
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KEN OAKES
for serving as the society's PRESIDENT this year