Jumping spider hammocks

I discovered how to find certain jumpers to photograph them in their habitat. I know they make web hammocks to rest in. But I didn’t realize how they make them in the wild and what they looked like. Yesterday, I saw a two flower heads bound together by a small thick web. Upon further inspection, I saw some stout Iegs—spider? When I took a closer look, the legs disappeared and the web hammock appeared empty.

So what happened? Went back to area a few hours later and saw the legs again. I backed away to watch it. The hammock owner emerged to take a look at me. The black-and-white pattern & blue “fangs” revealed a big male bold jumper. When I moved closer for a better picture, he instantly jumped down to the ground and disappeared. So that’s what happened.

I found a smaller hammock in a sedge seed head that housed a smaller jumper, probably a young bold.

So jumpers are one of the things that would sometimes pop out of those silk structures on plants that I investigated as a child. I hoped to find a lep caterpillar, cocoon or pupa. But I quickly learned the investigation was risky...

Lakeland, FL 20191006

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