Tony Eales from Australia has some nice arthropods for us today (and don’t forget to send in your pictures!). His notes are indented, and first three pictures are spiders that mimic ants.
More jumping spiders, ant mimics and otherwise.
I found another Judalana lutea that is a different colour scheme from the one I found earlier, the spider experts I consulted reckon that it’s either a variable species or more likely there are many undescribed species in the genus.
I’m very pleased that there appears to be a healthy population of the ant-mimicking Myrmarachne erythrocephala in my backyard, giving me lots of opportunities to observe and photograph these tiny active spiders. [JAC: doesn’t it look like an ant? But note the eyes!]
Finally I got a nice shot of one of the larger jumping spiders that occur locally, Sandalodes superbus. The fun but frustrating thing about jumping spiders is that they’re always very aware of you and follow your actions with interest, hence you get nice shots of them looking straight into the camera but also there’s no way to sneak up for a candid shot.
Really good photos. Spooky but good.
Breakfast with Salticids! A good start to the day.
Yes, members of this group are often so active and ‘aware’ of the camera that it is tough to get a picture.
I think that camouflage and mimicry are not only solid arguments in favour of natural selection, but they are gloriously amazing too.
Creepy-scary, but great photos!
I enjoy good close-ups of spiders. Great photos.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, very cool!
I love the jumping spiders but sometimes find it a bit unnerving when they’re staring back at me. I once discovered one in the car–on the dashboard–while I was driving. I made a mental note to try to remove it next time I stopped. But the darn thing scuttled right over to the edge of the dashboard, jumped, and ended up on the top of the steering wheel, looking right at me! I was sure it was contemplating another jump, right into my face or my lap or points in between (heh) and, not wanting to lose control and swerve off the road when that happened, I had to pull over right then and persuade the little guy to depart. Even though I was running late to wherever I was going, as always…
Arachnids! Love ’em. I saw a salticid while I was in Cambodia a few months back but I didn’t take a pic of it, sadly.