I had a small spider like that wandering around my computer last week. It was really darn cute. I eventually captured it and put it outside.
ledasmomsays
I had the most adorable little jumping spider drop onto my glasses at work last week. It dangled from them while I directed it to a somewhat safer place. I was unable to share this with my coworkers because many of them are seriously skeeved by spiders and view a spider dropping onto essentially their face as about the worst thing possible, but it was pretty cool.
Trebuchetsays
When the picture was just loading and I hadn’t read the text yet I thought it was going to be a squirrel. Don’t you just want to stroke its fur?
trollofreasonsays
Is that actually a baby spider, or is that just a male behind a female? I thought that spiders mass-babied across the all genera.
Die Anywaysays
@6 trollofreason, check the HHMI link under the picture for details.
auntbenjysays
*The* most adorable thing you have ever posted. Thanks. :)
Ichthyicsays
The female will lay 5–13 eggs inside a small, silken egg sac.
that’s actually pretty interesting. IIRC, most spiders lean towards the “r” end of the spectrum, producing large (hundreds or even thousands) of small eggs and trying for survival through sheer numbers.
this species seems to have gone almost all the way to the opposite end of the spectrum, producing few, much larger young.
would make for an interesting thesis to compare the two strategies and elucidate what the different environmental variables are that encourage one strategy over the other. Especially if both types of strategies occur in the same geographic areas.
That IS pretty interesting, actually. I’m both not surprised and highly amused by this spider, and her relatively unique reproduction strategy, comes from Australia.
Johnny Vector says
Salticids! Ooh!
birgerjohansson says
(continues singing)
can he walk
on a wall
no he can’t
He’s a pig
LOOKOUT!!!
Crimson Clupeidae says
I had a small spider like that wandering around my computer last week. It was really darn cute. I eventually captured it and put it outside.
ledasmom says
I had the most adorable little jumping spider drop onto my glasses at work last week. It dangled from them while I directed it to a somewhat safer place. I was unable to share this with my coworkers because many of them are seriously skeeved by spiders and view a spider dropping onto essentially their face as about the worst thing possible, but it was pretty cool.
Trebuchet says
When the picture was just loading and I hadn’t read the text yet I thought it was going to be a squirrel. Don’t you just want to stroke its fur?
trollofreason says
Is that actually a baby spider, or is that just a male behind a female? I thought that spiders mass-babied across the all genera.
Die Anyway says
@6 trollofreason, check the HHMI link under the picture for details.
auntbenjy says
*The* most adorable thing you have ever posted. Thanks. :)
Ichthyic says
that’s actually pretty interesting. IIRC, most spiders lean towards the “r” end of the spectrum, producing large (hundreds or even thousands) of small eggs and trying for survival through sheer numbers.
this species seems to have gone almost all the way to the opposite end of the spectrum, producing few, much larger young.
would make for an interesting thesis to compare the two strategies and elucidate what the different environmental variables are that encourage one strategy over the other. Especially if both types of strategies occur in the same geographic areas.
probably start here:
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1939345?uid=2&uid=4&sid=21104280364663
trollofreason says
That IS pretty interesting, actually. I’m both not surprised and highly amused by this spider, and her relatively unique reproduction strategy, comes from Australia.