Ant-mimic jumping spiders (macro)

[StephenM (Stephen)]

Hi all,

This is a heads-up for other macrophotographers in Brisbane... I'm finding that ant-mimic jumpers (Myrmarachne sp.) are the most common jumping spider in my garden this summer. I hadn't ever seen one until late 2013, and now I find them nearly every time I go into the backyard!

They are great looking little spiders, and they always want to jump onto my hand to get a closer look at my camera. But they look just like ants, so next time you see an ant in Brisbane have a close look at it.

Here's a few images. The first 3 are males, and the last 3 are females. If you're interested, there's plenty more on my flickr page as well.

Cheers,
Stephen

[noeyedeer (Matt)]

the skinks here would eat those. anything bigger then an acid ant (the little black ones) they devour.

nice pics on a spider that probably gets no attention, because it looks like an ant.

matt

[CJ (Chris)]

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

Stephen these are great!
What lens and camera are you using?
is it the Tamron with the 50D?
Graham

[StephenM (Stephen)]

Thanks Matt, Chris and Graham!

Originally Posted by graham.hobart

Stephen these are great!
What lens and camera are you using?
is it the Tamron with the 50D?
Graham

Yes Graham, all with the 50D and Tamron 90.

Cheers,
Stephen

[troypiggo (Troy)]

Great shots mate. You have to be close to notice them , hey.

[noeyedeer (Matt)]

does anyone know if these spiders just mimic ants for defense, or do they actually invade ant nests for eggs and whatnot.

wiki couldn't give me answers .. and other spider/insect websites say they just use ants as a camoflauge against predators.

either way I'm looking more closely at the ground when I'm outside having a ciggy.

matt

[Spookyer (Brett)]

nice shots

[multiweb (Marc)]

Great shots. They do look like ants.

[troypiggo (Troy)]

Originally Posted by noeyedeer

does anyone know if these spiders just mimic ants for defense, or do they actually invade ant nests for eggs and whatnot.

wiki couldn't give me answers .. and other spider/insect websites say they just use ants as a camoflauge against predators.

either way I'm looking more closely at the ground when I'm outside having a ciggy.

matt

Animals mimic for various reasons - as you say, defense, or camouflage for preditors to get close to prey.

I've seen these ant-mimic spiders at Roma St Parklands, and they are the latter. Getting close to prey. That's how I noticed them at first. I saw what looked like an ant with a midge in its mandibles. Closer inspection revealed it was indeed ant-mimic jumping spider.

Here's my thread I posted here on IIS with some photos: http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ighlight=mimic

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

This form could be aggressive mimicry where a predator mimics another species to be more successful at predation. I originally thought it was Batesian mimicry but I don't think the spider or the ant are harmless!

[StephenM (Stephen)]

Thanks again guys!... and nice images Troy.

Originally Posted by graham.hobart

This form could be aggressive mimicry where a predator mimics another species to be more successful at predation. I originally thought it was Batesian mimicry but I don't think the spider or the ant are harmless!

Yes, they are Batesian mimics, Graham; both in terms of appearance and behavior. The attached paper is worth a read if you're interested!

Cheers,
Stephen

[MortonH]

Cool pics and very interesting information.

[Geoff66 (Geoff)]

Years ago I noticed one green ant with an excess of legs. A recount and a closer look revealed it to be a spider Very interesting animals.

Nice pics!