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Wednesday, August 01, 2018

Bold New Jumpers


















In all my time documenting the insects and arachnids in my garden, I had never captured a bold jumping spider (Phidippus audax) nest and hatching. First is the pristine silk nest spun on the leaf of kalanchoe orgyalis; it has doors on both ends.
















I noticed the shape of the spider inside the nest, and as I watched from a distance, she gradually emerged from the back door, climbed up a nearby stem and jumped off into the garden. 




                                                                                 


                    

 A day later, the nest is in disarray and one tiny bold jumper can barely be seen leaving the nest in the last photo. I found some others scattered in the vegetation nearby. Good luck hunting, little ones.