Small spider weave...

[kynekh_amagire]

I've been keeping three Johnson jumping spiders (Phidippus johnsoni) in captivity for about a month and a half. I have two females and a male, which I refer to as Lady Crimson, Lady Gold, and Little Red respectively. While I cleaned their cages today, I remembered that they are Hugely Photogenic.

Comments

[ridayah]

Awesome spider pics! o.o

And awww, puppy. *headruffle*

[kynekh_amagire]

He's actually starting to grow some fluff.

[eldareth]

Wow! Y'know, normally I'm creeped out by spiders but I've always liked the jumping ones...they really are photogenic! Little Red sounds especially awesome. And Rooster looks just awfully handsome in the picture. The wine bottle is just too perfect, hehee

[kynekh_amagire]

Jumpers have been my favorites for aaaaages, long before I made the transition from "spider-interested" to "spider-obsessed". I like them lots.

[kynekh_amagire]

They're enormous, for jumping spiders -- which means they're still tiny.

Here's the standard size reference with Lady Crimson and a U.S. quarter. Little Red, the male spider, is slightly more than half her length.

The jumpers are pretty undemanding wildlife pets. I feed them pinhead crickets on an erratic schedule, averaging one every three days for the ladies, and one a week for the gent. I mist down their coco fiber substrate to keep them hydrated when they don't get liquid from prey (a water dish, for spiders this size, is worse than useless; they'd get trapped and drown). They seem fairly content with captivity, plus they're tremendously interesting to watch and photograph. I've learned a hell of a lot about this species that I wouldn't have from observing them in the wild. Plus they're personable little critters, for inverts. I don't expect them to live particularly long -- five months is the Internet consensus, and mine were all fully adult when I collected them -- but I like having them around.

[kynekh_amagire]

The Phidippus genus of jumping spiders is full of Large and Pretty. Mine are also well-fed, and you can see from the inset pictures of Lady Crimson and Little Red how plump they've gotten in my care, but they were pretty notable spiders to begin with.

We have zebra jumpers around here, too! They're much smaller than Johnson jumpers. I love them lots, and play with them whenever I find them. Here's one I found in the backyard last week, and here's one from the Oakland Zoo a year or two ago. Yes, I was at the zoo, taking pictures of spiders. I am possibly an enormous dork. :>

I've gotten a pic of an even SMALLER backyard jumper, but I have no idea what it is. You may notice several specks of dust in the pic that are larger.

[phineus]

the icon, I love it. :D Lady Crimson has quite a majestic booty!

Roo says "look - my nose is almost as long as this bottle! and we match!"

[kynekh_amagire]

This is after laying an egg case, btw. Spider is just FAT. I could let her slim down a bit, but she's never refused a prey item yet. She took out a crane fly!

She's awesome. :D

[stoda]

That's a very cute puppy on that snout.

I've always enjoyed the way some spiders will do that turn-and-track thing. Especially the fact that it's some of them.

[kynekh_amagire]

It's interesting how same-sex same-species arthropod individuals can be so... individual!