small wolf spider - Pirata piraticus

Rod Crawford says,

"While I think this is a Pirata, you haven't given any
direct dorsal view so it's hard to be certain. P.piraticus is
not the only possibility even if it is a Pirata. If it had a fully typical "tuning fork" it was a Pirata, and if it had a strongly contrasting heart mark it was piraticus - both as in
this figure.

… Lynette Schimming, 25 October, 2008 - 10:10am

LOL!

This little one is in the process of "ballooning." They climb to the top of a tall object, issue silken threads from their spinnerets, stand on tip-toe (tip-tarsi?), and wait for the wind to catch the threads and blow them to a new destination. This is a major way young spiders disperse.

… Eric R. Eaton, 19 October, 2008 - 1:38am

Yes, like ballooning,

however, this spider wasn't ballooning. It was definitely doing this in response to my actions. If I poked my finger at it, it reared up and tried to 'grab' it. If I moved closer it started this process of ballooning. If I backed off, it relaxed again. It was either using it as a way to scare me, or contemplating escaping? It certainly had an aggressive response to my interference.

… Lynette Schimming, 19 October, 2008 - 10:32am

I really just dropped in

to say I love this photo and wish it was mine! I always prefer simple, smooth comps like this because it makes the subject stand out so well. The relatively distant background really gives this the "long lens" look that I always go for.

After reading the discussion I'd say your spider may have been displaying multiple behaviors concurrently. This is definitely the appearance of a spider looking for the right wind, at least for this one frozen instant in time. Agonistic/predatory poses for females and immatures usually have the abdomen close to the ground with the front pair (or front two pair) of legs up, and after a tussle they may keep the whole body close to the ground with legs outstretched as in at least one of your other photos.

It's fair to point out I've only had maybe a half-dozen lycosids in captivity, ever. And all I did was feed/water them. Compared to 300-400 jumpers and all the kinky goings-on with that group, the lycosids didn't get a lot of my attention.

There's some good JoA papers on this. I don't have links handy, but if you google "JoA_v11_p407" you'll find one for female lycosids. And R.R. Jackson has an excellent one on Phidippus johnsoni that you might find interesting; search for "JoA_v5_p185". That one is titled 'mating tactics', but it goes plenty deep into different interactions.

… Jay Barnes, 12 November, 2008 - 2:00am

Primo! Spider Lynette

Thanks Jay, I love this shot too. Thanks for the info.

… Lynette Schimming, 12 November, 2008 - 8:32am