Jumping Spiders of the Western U.S. - Leaping Spiders: High Speed Photography of Jumping Spiders

This is a photo of the Jumping spider Sassacus vitis jumping onto a flower. The four silk drag lines are visible. This photo was taken with high-speed flash photography.

Sassacus vitis female. Before I identified this species from photos on the web, I called them “Goldies”. The adults are only 3-4 mm long. Here it can be seen that the drag line is made of four silk threads.

Sassacus vitis

A genus/species that I haven’t identified yet, jumping among jasmine leaves and flowers.

This is a photo of a Jumping spider leaping onto a Jasmine leaf. This photo was taken with high-speed flash photography.

A genus/species that I haven’t identified yet, jumping among jasmine leaves and flowers.

This is a photo of the Jumping spider Eris militaris, the Bronze Jumper, jumping between two blackberries. The spider's drag line is visible behind it. This photo was taken with high-speed flash photography.

Eris militaris – Bronze Jumper – This species is common across the United States.

This is a photo of the Jumping spider Eris militaris, the Bronze Jumper, jumping onto a blackberry stem. This photo was taken with high-speed flash photography.

Eris militaris – Bronze Jumper

This is a photo of the Jumping spider of the genus Habronatus, jumping on bricks. This photo was taken with high-speed flash photography.

Genus Habronattus

This is a female of the genus Habronattus, collected in the San Fernando valley (Southern Califoria). Habronattus are unusual in that they live and hunt on the ground and often get around not by walking, but by a continuous series of jumps, like someone on a pogo stick. The photo also illustrates that the spider used is third pair of legs to power the jump.