Jumping Spider (Female)
Brettus anchorum
Description:
A tiny jumping spider protecting its egg sac on the underside of a leaf . it took a fiercely defensive position as i approached the sac to click pics ,note the way it is just hanging with two legs wile the other legs are braced together. I have rotated the first pic so as to get a better look at the eggs and the way such a tiny little jumper is protecting them. The eggs are covered with a jelly like material which in turn is covered with a sticky web.
Maharashtra, India
Lat: 19.88, Long: 72.69
Spotted on May 31, 2012
Submitted on May 31, 2012
Spotted for Missions
Related Spottings
Nearby Spottings
33 Comments (1–25)
Thank you so much Lauren :)
Really wonderful series!
Thanks Dave :)
Brilliant series.
Dave
Thank you Phillip . Sumukha and chief :)
wonderful
I had not observed the moulting in last pic..! This is Fantastic Atul..:-)
Most welcome Sergio, these guys are really interesting and hard to find .
That is an amazing series Atul, I am glad you shared it with us. Thank you.
Interesting update.
And thanks ChunXingWong and Ashish for the comment.
UPDATE :
the portia spiderlings have shed their coat and are ready to go out in the wild ....... The female was nearby still aggressively guarding them .
Right said.. Chun.. its rare spotting all the way..!!
Oh, they have already hatched !
Hope this becomes the SOTD.
Thank you guys!
@ Ashish these spiders are one of the most intelligent species of spiders in the family Salticidae.They are capable of learning and problem solving, traits normally attributed to much larger animals ( Wikipedia)
and as i have said in the notes it takes a defensive position as i go near it.it has been this way for the past 8- 10 days.
but today was different ,as i approached to take pics initially it saw me n took the defensive position but later settled down to give me this particular pose.Guess it got used to me.
Wow..! Fantastic Atul..:-)
Pose of spider is very important when she looks after her nymphs...
Lovely spot Atul...!!
Awesome update! Thanks for sharing this doc!
UPDATE pic uploaded showing newly hatched spiders
approx after 13 days these newly hatched spiderlings seen around the female portia.The Female was still guarding the babies and has shrunk a lot , my guess is she hasn't left the eggs from the day she has laid them.
Great spotting!
Wa~Amazing~!!!
Thank you Satyen!
Super cool spider!
Thanks Karen and Jolly!