oOOo

[troypiggo]

I just love jumping spiders. They're so alert and inquisitive. You can see them tracking you with their large front eyes.

Took this on Sunday morning after an all night session at Leyburn the other week.

[multiweb]

:lol: Great post title (and photo) :thumbsup:

[Dennis]

Lovely photo Troy! Do all spiders have multiple sets of eyes?

Cheers

Dennis

[bloodhound31]

He's gorgeous Troy! Nice work mate.

Baz.

[troypiggo]

Thanks guys :)



I think most have 4 pairs, but wouldn't be game to say all do. On jumpers the pairs are very clear and large because they rely on their eyes for hunting. Some spiders that cast webs to catch food have really messy eyes (how's that for a scientific description) that are much smaller and less defined, because they also rely heavily on other sensory features for vibrations and movement, not just eyesight.

I have a couple of shots in mind to explain what I mean, but not on this computer. I'll post if I have a chance.

[Lumen Miner]

I love it when you get a lil' guy, whom is fasinated in his reflection on the lens. Great shots when you get one tracking the lens, looking straight down it.

That is a fantastic shot mate!! I hate on jumpers having to put the tips of the mandibles slightly out of focus, to achieve focus on their eyes. Depending on the length I can sometimes get both in focus, yet mostly choose to get the eyes only.

I can't get enough of jumpers, I am actually breeding them for realease in my yard now...

I have about 300 young that I am raising.

[troypiggo]

Wow! Breeding them! I have heaps around my home, but all the same species. Few different ones out the in park behind, but most here are similar.

[dpastern]

Excellent shot Troy. When's the Sigma arrive btw? Did you get it???

Dennis - the vast majority have 8 eyes. A few species have Six, and a few Four, but it's not common. 8 is the norm. Most spiders have very poor eyesight, the exclusions to this general rule are Jumpers and Wolf spiders. Spider's eye arrangements vary quite drastically. You may find this page interesting reading then:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/84423

Dave

[troypiggo]

Sigma 150 should arrive in the next day or 2. Was hoping I'd have it for this weekend, but wasn't to be.

[dpastern]

You could always pop around tomorrow and borrow mine :P Or later on this early evening :P

Dave

[Lumen Miner]

Just released them tonight. I have around 3 different jumpers species in my yard. I have noticed numbers dropping lately, so I decided to realease a few myself.

[White Rabbit]

Cute little bugger aint he.

[koputai]

Before these macro threads started I used to kill pretty much every
spider that came into the house, and a fair few in the yard. Now I
have all these new little friends around the place that I keep an eye
on and am concerned for their welfare!
We have a Brown Jumping Spider who is now resident in the bathroom,
generally staying on the windows, but over the last 24hrs she's been
wandering around a hell of a lot. Yesterday I watched her stalk and
attack a small dead fly. Once she grabbed it and found it dead she
left it alone. She's the only one that has really interacted so far,
raising her head and wiggling her mandibles when you get close to her.
Thanks for saving me from being the aracno-death squad!

Cheers,
Jason.

[troypiggo]

Hehe. Good stuff, Jason. It's fascinating. I used to be the same. Every time an insect or spider came near, you'd swat it away or kill it. I think partly because you don't know what's going to sting or harm you, and what is just going about its business and will leave you alone. As you learn more and more about them, you become more comfortable with them.

Example. Bees and wasps. I think most people think if they fly at you they want to sting or attack. Learn their behaviour. They're not very good when the weather turns cold. Find a bee or wasp in really cold weather, move your hand close to it, it will sense the heat from you and crawl on your hand to warm up and fly away. I scooped a wasp out of our pool in winter, let it dry and warm up on my hand before it was right and flew away.

Leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.