ID for California Salticidae? - Phidippus

Moved

… Jeff Hollenbeck, 8 July, 2018 - 6:32pm

Immature Phidippus sp.

I can't see the abdomen markings well enough in your photos, but we have a couple unidentified ones that might be similar to yours from the same area

and

I'm pretty sure those two are the same species, and both possibly Phidippus johnsoni. The most obvious similarity I see in comparison to your specimen is the well-defined clypeus band, or the horizontal stripe under the anterior median eyes.

As I've shown here and here, a single Phidippus specimen can vary greatly in appearance during its developmental stages, and two specimens of the same gender and species can also vary greatly from each other even if they are collected just a few hundred yards apart. So while all of these might indeed be P. johnsoni, I'd love to see a life history series to represent them at some point.

… Jay Barnes, 4 January, 2009 - 12:46am

Really fascinating response Jay...

...thank you so much for taking the time! The other images you referenced definitely bear a striking similarity (especially, as you point out, with the white clypeus band). Your photographs of Phidippus specimen variation are wonderful examples and I can see how easy it would be to assume they were separate species. Just out of curiosity, what would one need to do to keep a jumper alive in captivity in order to photograph the life cycle?

I went through my photos and found a few more images of likely immature Phidippus, which I uploaded to ID Request. (Click on the thumbnails below to see the submissions, if you are interested.)

… Harsi S. Parker, 4 January, 2009 - 11:51pm

Rearing

I left some notes here.

Jumpers can eat rather large prey. One good-sized moth every day or two will really fatten him up. Always have extra clean containers around so you can transfer the spider to a clean one while cleaning the dirty ones.

If you happen to see the spider molting, give it some peace and quiet. He'll let you know when he's finished.

… Jay Barnes, 12 January, 2009 - 1:53am

...

Thanks for the useful info. Jay!

… Harsi S. Parker, 12 January, 2009 - 8:06pm