The
Jumping Spider, (Sitticus palustris), is a diurnal animal with
excellent eyesight, that pursues its prey and leaps upon it. It has an
all-round view of its surroundings because of its large, central, front
eyes. It is about the size of a 20c piece when fully grown, with pin size
legs. There are many different species but all jump and turn their heads
separately from their bodies to look at objects. They live in houses and
gardens and are most common in Summer, Australia wide. It is a roving spider
but hangs from web lines at night. It rarely bites people and causes only
mild local pain.
 Australia
has about 250 species of Jumping spiders. Tufts of hair behind their claws
give the Jumping spider non-skid footing. A Jumping spider may high jump
20cm or more and can leap 25 times its own body length. Its trailing silken
safety line keeps it stable in flight as well as catching it if it falls.
A male Jumping spider courts a female by "dancing" to display any
special markings, like the Peacock spider. The male of one Jumping spider,
the Gliding spider can extend hair-fringed flaps from the sides of its
abdomen which help it glide while leaping.
 One
of the main enemies of the Jumping spider is the spider-eating wasp. This
wasp will catch Jumping spiders and stock their cells up with Jumping
spiders as food for their larvae.
On average, one cell may contain up to 10 Jumping spiders.
Hi! Glen this is a little guy named Tappy. Here are some shots see
if you can use them.-Rich Swanner
Click for a larger view.
Information
and pictures were taken from children's projects and where credited to that
child does not claim to be original information. Where possible, permission
to reproduce has been sought. Any infringement of copyright is purely
unintentional.
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