Jumping spider eating another spider

Steve Nunn

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Unknown saltidid eating the theridiid Nesticodes rufipes.

Enjoy,







Steve
 

Freddie

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One little ugly spider.
Nice pics though :)

It's weird that spiders can be so ugly and cute at the same time...
 

Elizabeth

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Did the jumping spider have to get the theridiid while it was off-web? A jumping spider wouldn't venture onto a web to get another spider, would it?
 

mimic58

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Elizabeth said:
Did the jumping spider have to get the theridiid while it was off-web? A jumping spider wouldn't venture onto a web to get another spider, would it?
IMO if a spider is hungry enough it will take pritty much any opertunity available.
 

Steve Nunn

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Elizabeth said:
Did the jumping spider have to get the theridiid while it was off-web? A jumping spider wouldn't venture onto a web to get another spider, would it?
Hi Elizabeth,
The salticids have interesting methods when it comes to grabbing other spiders from webs. A common strategy is to sit on the very edge of the web and pluck it to mimick struggling prey. Once the owner of the web comes over to grab it's prey, it becomes prey :)

Other salticids such as Portia fimbriata have extremely advanced hunting methods and even hunt other salticids, they will actually stalk their prey down. If the prey (perhaps another salticid) turns around to see what is following it, Portia knows to not move and can play this game from a couple of yards away (she has the second best known vision for any animal) until the gap is down to nothing.

Cheers,
Steve
 

NRF

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mimic58 said:
How bad is the venom/bite from a JS ?
I think the venom is quite powerful and fast acting, considering the small size of most Salticids. I once tried to feed a tiny jumping spider to a big Clubionid (the length of the jumper was about half the length on the Clubionids pedipalp). The Clubionid attacked the Salticid and both died immediately. The small Salticid bit the Clubionid in one of its pedipalps and died there with its fangs penetrating the pedipalp. I was amazed of the braveness and strength of the jumping spider.
 

Steve Nunn

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mimic58 said:
How bad is the venom/bite from a JS ?
Hi,
The venom isn't a problem for humans at all. However, in rare cases (such as Mopsus mormon, I've posted pics of one in this forum ;)) bites do need to be monitored. Some salticids carry bacteria on their fangs that can cause necrosis, it's not the venom, but the bacteria obtained through some as yet unidentified prey item, probably a ground crawler (given that other free range hunting spiders such as wold spiders quite often have the same bacteria present).

Cheers,
Steve
 

mimic58

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So does this mean in many cases its the secondary infection you develop after the bite that posses the real danger??? ... if so thats a bit scarey some species have bearly been described who knows what they harbour besides venom , Id hate to be the first person to get some mutant lurgy from a T'bite
 

Micrathena

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You MUST name him Hannibal. No buts. On the semi-serious side, it would be awesome to keep a jumping spider in a tiny DIY butcher's shop kind of thing... and feed it spiders. Muhahahaha...
 

Curious jay

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You MUST name him Hannibal. No buts. On the semi-serious side, it would be awesome to keep a jumping spider in a tiny DIY butcher's shop kind of thing... and feed it spiders. Muhahahaha...
This thread is 8 years old lol, I'm unsure of why you revived it but... The method of jumpers plucking other spiders from their webs reminded me of some thing I saw the other day.

Was out in the garden having a smoke and I often feed all the spiders I can see with excess feeders (usually small-large mealworms as they're so easy to breed) and I was feeding a sheet web spider as they're all over a small tree I have out the back. I dropped a small mealworm into the web to which the spider was quick to pounce on, as I was watching the spider wrestle with the flailing mealworm I noticed another spider on the web (not unusual I often see males sharing female webs or on the odd occasions multiple different species sharing the same proximity/web) but as it was moving on the web I noticed it wasn't a male of the same spider.

As I looked at it closer I noticed it was advancing the web in what looked like it was pre empting an attack on the host spider (was slowly navigating the web with leg pair I extended in a similar way they would threat pose) so I continued to watch, as soon as it got withing range to strike it went for the host spider to which the host played dead and dropped the web instantly.

I swiftly ran inside to grab a small deli to capture the attacker in as I was curious to try an get an ID here, but as I scooped to collect it, it followed suit of the host and dropped the web lol.

From looking at pictures in pretty sure it was a pirate spider..... Random story for a random re up ;).
 

Micrathena

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Oh... Eight years... I never even noticed. I love feeding random spiders though. I should just take a jar of mealworms around with me.
 
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