The Jumping Spider
The jumping spider
Jumping spiders are usually less than 2 cm in length with females generally larger than males. Most jumping spiders are brightly colored and strikingly patterned. They usually have stout bodies, short legs, and a very large pair of eyes on the front of the face. Their eyes are very important, and play an important part whilst hunting for prey. The jumping spider has four pairs of eyes, with the large principal eyes giving it sharper vision than any other animal of similar size. It can identify prey, predators, and mates from up to 30 cm away.
The jumping spider is an active predator, which means it does not need to catch its prey through a web. It usually hunts during daylight. It will stalk to within a few body lengths of the prey, crouch, crawl slowly forward, and then lift its front legs and Jump. It manages to jump by means of muscular contractions in the body that force body fluids into the legs, causing the legs to extend rapidly. Before jumping it attaches a filament of silk to whatever it is standing on. It does so, so that if it falls, it will climb back up the silk filament. Most jumping spiders feed on insects, while others feed primarily on web-building spiders. The following video shows the jumping spider in action:
