Eight Eyed Jumping Spiders

I'm sure this is just what you arachnophobes wanted to read about today. A spider able to jump up to 50 times its body height, and able to see better than you. Well… relax... outdoors you’re probably never more than 5 feet from one, and you, most likely, have never been attacked... yet... but they will watch you very closely.

There are over 5,000 species of jumping spider which makes this one I photographed on a recent trip difficult to specifically identify. But he is beautiful, isn’t he?

Their eyes are amazing. First he watches for movement with the eyes on the sides of his head. These eyes provide a wide angle low resolution view. Once he senses movement he will turn to look with his front eyes. These eyes provide better vision in most cases than human eyes, but not as wide a view. They must move their eyes or body to track their prey. The front eyes also provide a telephoto view in color. The color range is extreme. They generally see UV rays and various color spectra hidden to human eyesight. The side front eyes provide distance and depth perception as the spider stalks it prey with catlike motion.

When I first examined this spider he was sideways to me. He finally spotted me and was moving to get a better view when I snapped this shot. Eight eyes! God is amazing!


  1. How big are they? and do they spin a web?

  2. Most are under a quarter of an inch, but some are around a half inch. Females are usually larger than males. Webs... some sleep or shelter under a small web, some females lay their eggs in a web, and they will anchor a line when they jump, just in case they miss or fall. They don't generally harm humans, and their venom is not generally harmful unless someone is allergic. They also engage in complex mating dances that are fun to watch.



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