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Project Noah Nature School
Myrmarachne maxillosa
Salticidae; Myrmarachninae; Myrmarachne; M. maxillosa (female) C. L. Koch, 1846. I think this wonderful little spider must rank amongst the greatest examples of evolution. When Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution in his book "On The Origin of Species", there was great upheaval in the scientific community of the time and indeed some rejection of his ideas. If I were around at that time, all he would have had to do to convince me would be to show me M. maxillosa. It is truly the most ant-like spider that I have ever seen. I my view, it puts all others in the shade.
I spotted this spider on dense foliage growing along the edge of a rice field. At that time of year (February), we are in the middle of the dry season in the Philippines and my wife usually allows this particular field to lie fallow while some neighbouring farmers are growing a second crop using irrigation and applying copious amounts of artificial fertilisers and insecticides. However, since my wife is not engaged in "commercial farming" and more or less just looks after her land, she feels free to be flexible in her approach. So, to cut to the chase, in the year in question, she made a decision to experiment a little and planted the field with Mongo Bean (Vigna radiata). The crop was fairly successful, but hordes of insects were constantly present (to my great delight !) and, of course where there are insects, there are spiders. So this spider's habitat was wild growth along the edges of a Mongo Bean Crop and almost certainly it would be making incursions into the the bean crop to enjoy the easy pickings.
Confirmation of presence in Philippines - http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks...
Spotted on Feb 25, 2016
Submitted on Jul 8, 2022
12 Comments
To: Mark Ridgway
Hi Mark I said I would not pester you, but something has cropped up. I contacted SukanyaDatta a short time ago, but then I remembered she might be asleep, I haven't checked her time zone. Please read my comment to her so that you see what the problem is. John B.
To: SukanyaDatta
Good morning Sukanya, please forgive this intrusion, I am in such a hurry to contact you that I have not even checked what time it is in your part of the world. I have a potentially serious situation which should be brought to the attention of the management of Project Noah. I could, of course email PN's contact address, but it might take days to get an answer. I am hoping that you, as a ranger, will have a faster point of contact. Early this morning, I had a notification of a comment on one of my spottings and answered it as soon as I saw it. The comment was from "christeena108". I checked on her spottings page and there are no spottings, just some "likes" and some comments. So this is a new member. I then went about some of my daily chores, looking after my dogs and my cat, before returning to start my project noah work on my laptop. I immediately noticed that I had several more notifications - all comments from "christeena108". In one of them she told me SHE IS ONLY 7 YEARS OLD. Can you please deal with this or advise me how best I should deal with it. This is clearly a bad situation. Thank you. John B.
To: Leuba Ridgway
Good evening Leuba, thank you for your comment. Nice to hear from you again. Yes, I quite like this spider. I took the picture back in 2016 and have never seen another since then. Every time I think I've spotted one, it turns out to be a Polyrhachis ant - the kind the spider is mimicking. Best Regards, John B.
Very metallic ! All he has to do is hide his eyes....then he'd be 100% ant. Great spotting John and story.
To: SukanyaDatta
Thank you so much for putting me at ease. I try as much as I can to be considerate towards others and hide my disappointment if I think they have fallen short of my expectations, but I have to admit that at my age (79 and rapidly approaching 80 years old) I am becoming a little less tolerant and a little too sensitive. I must endeavour to to improve on these shortcomings. May I just finish by saying that I value your comments and advice and hope we can keep in touch going forward. Best regards, John B.
To: Mark Ridgway
Thanks, Mark. I promise not to be a nuisance for a few days, but not too long. I just can't help myself :-) John B.
No problem, John (if I may). A few years ago PN used to have a Message box for personal chats but that was discontinued. It is perfectly fine with me if people on PN join in...and what was said was not offensive at all. I have jumped into a conversation, at least once, so cannot point fingers. :) As long as we are not sharing personal details such as bank details or addresses etc...you know......please do not worry about it at all. I love chatting on PN because people here are nature lovers...a trait we ALL share. I admire the time you put into your spottings and the meticulousness of your entries. Thanks a lot.
To: SukanyaDatta
Good afternoon Sukanya, I hope you do not mind if I address you by your first name. I feel that we are friends already. Thank you once again for commenting on my poor efforts. You always include a kind word or two in your comments and that is so nice of you. I hesitate to mention this, but last time we were exchanging some thoughts, I had quite forgotten that Project Noah is a public platform, and was horrified that there we were reminiscing about times past when people were so much more polite and courteous when suddenly a third person joined in. I know that the comment box is a tool to enable us to exchange information and ideas about nature, but i also think that small, more personal exchanges may be allowed. I know that it is my own fault for forgetting the open and exposed nature of these internet communications, but the shock of that moment has rather hung over me for the last day or two. As you know, our little chat came to an abrupt end and I felt terrible for you. In your position as a ranger, you have to be diplomatic and treat everyone equally. I am spared from those restrictions as an ordinary P.N. contributor, but I am concerned that you might have been upset. I should stop now because this is a public platform and I would not welcome a repeat of what happened last time. My best regards, John B..
Pester away John.. I might be a bit quiet for the next few days though.
To: Mark Ridgway
Good afternoon Mark. Thank you for your comment. As I have said before, it is nice to know that you are out there, keeping an eye on things for the rest of us. Your comments are always welcome and much appreciated (and of course, now that I have "buttered you up" a little, I feel that I might be able to pester you from time to time when in need of help. Best Regards, John B.
This one looks like it's made of steel. ;-)
I love ant-mimic spiders...remember seeing them first on PN (and almost not being able to believe) ...and then, ONCE my eyes were opened (so to say) I have seen them 'live'. Love your spotting photographs and notes (as always).