Daring jumping spider

A daring jumping spider (Phidippus audax), in my bathroom. I saw it while getting ready for work, and ran to grab the camera — didn’t have time for a great shot of those green chelicerae but I was happy with this one.

Although they’re large (this one was about a half-inch long I think), jumping spiders are harmless. Nothing to be afraid of from this animal. They’re called ‘daring’ jumping spiders because they’re quite aware of you when you’re watching them, and they’ll watch right back. Most spiders either have poor vision and won’t see you, or have good vision and will run and hide. They’re popular with arachnophiles because of this, and because of the metallic green chelicerae (think fangs) you can see in this image. They don’t spin webs: you’ll see them with silk tethers, but they only use them as safety lines while hunting or traveling.

Speaking of the macro bracket, I’ll be posting an update on how it works with an off-camera flash cord later this week. My first impression is that the balance and weight are much better, and the flash is much more securely placed than it was with the Cactus V2s receiver. I do need to find some way of diffusing the light, though.