Last night I felt something on my bare leg and swatted it off of me. I thought it was a fly. But when it hit the floor, I noticed it was a spider and it was hopping away. I immediately thought jumping spider, but it didn’t look like one.
Granted, this spider was tiny! It was about 3mm long, and of course that included it’s legs. I grabbed a glass jar to capture it. I took a picture and then tried to figure out what kind it was. If I had taken the image above first, I would have known exactly what it was.
But this was the image that I first took and from this pic, it doesn’t look like a jumping spider. I was thinking it might be a juvenile grey house spider. I posted it on a plant and wildlife group I’m in and someone said jumping spider. Knowing that, I took another pic of it in my photo light box. Sure enough! It was a jumping spider!
My First Jumping Spider Friend
I was living in southern California, and was chilling on my deck when I felt something on my arm. I swatted it away, but it came back again – then it jumped on my coffee mug handle. Soon after that, it caught a fly! This little spider was about 6mm long. It was so cute! I fell in love immediately with it’s gigantic eyes to the proportions of it’s body.
It seemed that every time I came out to sit on the deck, this little spider would visit with me. Maybe there was more than one? I’m not sure. But it was definitely friendly.
As you can see – this jumping spider is pretty tiny. But the one I saw last night is even smaller!
Cute and Docile
Jumping spiders are in the Salticidae family and make up 13% of all the spiders in the world. They are also found worldwide! They range in length from 1 to 25mm. They are set apart from other spiders because of their huge eyes. You can read more about this fantastic species here.
As far as spiders go, the jumping spider is definitely docile. They are said to warm up to human companions. Hence, many people have taken an interest in having these delightful spiders as pets.
Capture and Release
After photographing my little jumping spider friend from last night, it was released outside. It immediately took cover under a leaf and disappeared in the foliage.
As much as I love jumping spiders and would love to have one as a pet, I don’t think it’s right to hold a wild one captive.
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