Spoodsburgh, PA

adventures of a novice jumping spider enthusiast in western pennsylvania

[spoodsburgh]

Check out Spike's spin move as she does hammock maintenance...

[spoodsburgh]

Spotted this little cutie on the hose yesterday. Anyone have an idea what species they might be? Maybe a juvenile Paraphidippus aurantius (emerald jumping spider)? They were moving a lot so it was hard to get a good photo.

[spoodsburgh]

It just occurred to me that if Spike is mature, then I could potentially have only a very short amount ot time with her. Jumping spiders only live a year or two to begin with, but if Spike is mature then it's anyone's guess how much time she has left. I was watching her patrol her enclosure today and saw her slip a couple times on the acrylic door. Granted, it's smooth acrylic and not easy for spiders to grip to begin with, and every time I open the door her drag lines get disrupted so there's probably a bunch of chaotic silk that could trip her up... But it makes me worry.

As the great philosopher Gandalf once said, "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

[spoodsburgh]

♥️ \|○OO○|/ ♥️

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Whatever species Poptart is, they're the same as Nugget. Look at their cute striped legs!

[spoodsburgh]

My precious tiny predator.

[spoodsburgh]

The green orb weaver that lives on my porch.

[spoodsburgh]

Well, hello there...

Meet Poptart.

I spotted this tiny sling crawling on this box near the other spiders. I think it's the same sling I saw crawling on my windows inside the house a few days ago. I offered them a melanogaster larva, and clearly they were hungry! I made a little enclosure for them in a 2oz deli cup like I did for Nugget. No idea what species or sex they are. They are likely the same species as Nugget because they look identical. I think they might be zebra jumpers, based on the coloration I'm seeing on Nugget, but at this size it's so difficult to tell.

Update: Poptart could not grip the walls of the deli cup, so I lightly scored all of the inside surfaces of a new deli cup with my xacto knife and used that to make a new enclosure. Poptart had no trouble gripping the textured walls! I'm proud of thinking of a solution that didn't involve adding anything potentially hazardous or complicated to the enclosure to make it better for this tiny little sling.

[spoodsburgh]

I literally love this spider so much.

♥️ Spike ♥️

[spoodsburgh]

This little female Salticus senicus, zebra jumping spider, was exploring my camp chair while I was hanging out in the yard. She looked to be about the same size as Spike. Could she be Spike's sister? I'd like to think she could be...

[spoodsburgh]

A couple days ago I had two big scares with Spike. Both are things that are a sort of learning curve situation, but I also feel like I could have done better. Spike is very special to me and it's incredibly fulfilling to care for her and Nugget. I just love them so much. I take their care very seriously because I am the one who chose to remove them from the wild and now they are dependent on me, and I have a tendency towards perfectionism...

Anyway, Spike had been spending most of her time in her hammock and I figured (hoped) she was in premolt, so I checked on her a few times a day like always, misted, and tried to keep things as low disturbance as possible for her. She wasn't doing her normal routine of patrolling during the day. Once it got to be a week since she had eaten I got concerned but, if she was in premolt then that isn't unusual. From the angles I could see her, she seemed fine. Then, a couple days ago I saw her come out and her abdomen was so skinny! Not wrinkled but the thinnest I've ever seen it. I kind of panicked and dumped like 10 flies into her enclosure and misted the wall near her hammock. I was so relieved when she immediately started hunting. She ended up eating eight of the flies and then was back to what I would expect her to look like after a big meal. The most I've seen her eat prior to this was 5 melanogasters. Afterward, she was patrolling normally. So, I've learned to just offer food even if she won't end up taking it instead of waiting for her to resume normal hunting activity.

Fly massacre.

The next scare was that the leaf node I made detached from its magnet and was hanging only by the pieces of web Spike attached to it from her hammock. I was terrified it would fall and crush her or pull on her hammock and trap her. I tried to support it until it coulf be repaired, but it ended up falling. I got Spike away from it and she wasn't hurt, thankfully. I made the node with "reptile vine" leaves and hot glued it to a magnet, but it seems the bond wasnt good, despite me testing it before installation. Spike returned to the torn hammock and rested in it, so I was relieved to see that. I spent several hours working on construction of a new leaf node that would be more secure. I am pleased with the final design, though it isn't as pretty. But, Spike doesn't need pretty, she needs safe. I made one that has two attachment points and redundant bonds, but it is lighter. I also removed all the magnets acting as extra security for the inside grid. The grid is pressure fitted anyway. As a failsafe, I looped some thread through the vent holes and ceiling grid and pulled them tight to secure the ceiling. It might be overkill, but I don't care. Eventually, I will remove the second leaf node and upgrade it, but Spike doesn't use it for resting or a silk anchor so there's no rush.

I have a lot of guilt over those two incidents, but Spike is fine and I learned how to care for her better.

[spoodsburgh]

Spike cleans her face after the absolute massacre she inflicted... Eight melanogasters! EIGHT. I think it's time to move up in prey size.

[spoodsburgh]

I swear Nugget got bigger, but I don't see a molt anywhere... I broke the macro camera on my phone so this is the closest I can get when taking pics of them. Still no idea what species they are...

Big news though: Nugget took down a small adult melanogaster! I offered them a larva but they didn't seem interested. It had been 2 days since their last meal. They struck at the larva but didn't hold on. I toom the larva out and a couple hours later stunned a small adult melanogaster and offered that to Nugget. They watched it for a bit and I figured they wouldn't take it and I would remove it later. Came back to check on them after a bit and saw them feeding on the fly! Way to go Nugget!

[spoodsburgh]

Saw this adorable lady today on the side of my house. I think she is an Attulus fasciger, Asiatic wall jumpjng spider. I see a lot of these around, including a smaller female nearby this one. I watched her for a while, then attempted to pick her up. She didn't want to crawl on me so I put her back on the wall she had been on. Look at that cute little face!

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Spike enjoys lunch in a shady spot.

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Here is a little cutie found on my friend's porch at the end of May. No idea what species they are... It's hard to tell when they are that small. They looked like they have a longer, flatter body. Maybe someone with more knowledge and experience can identify them? They crawled around on me for a good while before I put them back on the chair where I found them.

[hannahtempler]

when spiders put their little pedipalps together