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Project Noah Nature School
Phidippus johnsoni
About 1 - 1.5 cm long. Found under a small boulder in the Livers Leap campground. Mixed conifer, gravel soul, and about 200 meters from the American River in N. California
It is one of the species of jumping spiders which are mimics of mutillid wasps in the genus Dasymutilla (commonly known as "velvet ants"); several species of these wasps are similar in size and coloration, and possess a very painful sting.
Spotted on Jul 1, 2013
Submitted on Jul 2, 2013
3 Comments
No problem! Yeah I tried to look at the ranges to eliminate one of the species, but I couldn't find any good info on that.
Thanks Jack! good call. I'm definitely going with the female Phidippus johnsoni as its coloration is a perfect match and the distribution of the western US fits. The other species you mentioned is East Coast and I spotted this in Cali. Thanks again!
Either a male Phidippus clarus or a female Phidippus johnsoni. Not sure which, as I've only seen one adult Phidippus clarus and never a P. johnsoni.