Hi all, it has been a few weeks since my last post thanks to the colder weather and having to move house, but hopefully I’ll have some more shots up soon. Local insect activity has reduced now that the colder weather is here, though looking around my new gardens there are still some interesting photo opportunities about.
Here are two examples of a common type of jumping spider (Family Salticidae) that I occasionally see around the garden. I’m not going to hazard a guess at what species they are as there is a lot of diversity. They are quite beautiful little spiders and amazing hunters if you see them capture prey. They generally hide under leaves where they monitor any suitable prey within jumping distance. They will then stalk their targets and jump at speeds faster than the eye can follow. If you look at the eyes of these spiders, they must have almost 360 degree vision and can be disturbed easily if approached too quickly. I’ve found that if you find a jumping spider and want to capture a photo head on, then firing the flash a few times will capture their attention and they will often turn to face you. They almost seem to lock onto you and will keep following you with their 4 large front eyes. They are truly a beautiful specimen who’s intricate details are lost to the naked eye thanks to their tiny size. It is also common to have these spiders jump on you or the camera when you get too close. I once spotted one on my shirt and went to gently brush it off only to have it jump onto my face and bite my lip. I guess they aren’t too dangers as I’m still here, though they are amazingly fast.
