I haven't gotten the spider under a scope yet to check for maturity, but I'm sure you must be right - looks like I should have been more patient. :( I'll check GB's book as well.

From Santa Cruz on a fig leaf:

for sure, Arthur. The only way I know how to figure out the genus is to try to rear them and see what they look like when they are adults or near-adults... But one of the salticid experts on BG might be able to say more about your spider.

...front legs. You have to look closely to see the left leg is double banded just like yours! It was interesting to find such a small spider already exploring the world!

yep, I have GB's book. Could it still also be a Pelegrina (one of my most common local jumpers)? It may be a while before I get to this one, but I hope to be able to get her to species...

For my rearing attempts so far, I've been giving each spider some water (moistened cotton ball) and several wingless fruit flies (D. melanogaster from buyfruitflies.com) every two or three days. The salticids reliably make a silken retreat on a container edge and tend to hang out and molt there. The two lynx spiders I've tried to rear don't seem to make silk retreats and usually hang out at the bottom of the container. I've only gotten one of the lynx spiders (a Peucetia) to molt once...

Ah, yeah, I see that it looks an awful lot like Pelegrina aeneola. Guess I'll have to wait to see what you find out.