CLOSED: Spiders are cool!

I found this guy (I think) on my back porch screen. He is so cool looking with those markings. What is he? she?

From behind.

Is it one of the jumping spiders?

Those eyes are a dead giveaway. Yes, it is a jumping spider, I believe in the genus Phidippus. http://bugguide.net/node/view/154915

That's him. Thanks. Aren't they beautiful?

I love jumping spiders. They make nice pets, too. Always try to have a few in the house....

Are the top photo and bottom photo of the very same spider?

Yes. I got a bunch of shots but he kept moving so the lighting was different.

And he was rearing up to confront me, as if to say, "I can take ya!"

The pedipalps in the bottom are definitely male, but the top photo looks like a female. Ah, well, go figure....

Maybe it's the angle...

When it raised it's pedipalps, the pic got kind of blurred. That might be the problem.

I love these guys too!

I love them too- looks like we may have the same kind- Maryland to Utah, wow

This message was edited Sep 9, 2008 10:35 PM

It's fun because they don't seem afraid of us but they take care of the bugs in no time. They like my potted plants by the door.

They almost seem curious about us - watching us....I think they are intelligent beings. (Cue the music....)

They have such personality - here's a photo I took a couple of years ago in my Maine garden - he looks like a little punk rocker with that shock of hair!

Ah ha ha ha!!!

I love it!!

So, here's another we found this evening.

It was doing something that was different.

It was starting to get dark. Was it getting ready to sleep?

kniphofia- great picture !
kwanjin- looks like the second pic just there. it's saying its little "now I lay me down to sleep..."

"Fear me!" or "Hug me" I'm not sure

great shots, kwanjin. you got the tiny little zone of focus juuuuust right in Post #5536661.

I found a spider somewhat like this in my garden a few days ago, sitting on a bamboo stake. It didn't scurry off when I put my lens right up next to it, but it moved around the bamboo stake a step or two, just enough that I couldn't get the shot. I tried from the other side; same thing, different direction. We played this little game a couple of times and then I gave up. Couldn't get a good shot of the little thing, but glad to have it in the garden.

Thanks, Indy. I had to take quite a few shots before it gave up and let me get some good ones. It did the same thing, danced around and wouldn't let me get the side I wanted.

I noticed it raised the hairs on it's pedipalps when I got too close.