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Photo#53086
Ant-mimic Spider - Synemosyna formica

Ant-mimic Spider - Synemosyna formica
Harvard, Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA
May 20, 2006
Size: 4.5mm
When I saw this one on a plant, I really thought this was just an ant that I hadn't seen before. I took it home to photograph, and was I pleasantly surprised to see a spider through the camera lens.

Images of this individual: tag all
Ant-mimic Spider - Synemosyna formica Ant-mimic Spider - Synemosyna formica Ant-mimic Spider - Synemosyna formica Ant-mimic Spider - Synemosyna formica Ant-mimic Spider - Synemosyna formica Ant-mimic Spider - Synemosyna formica

Sweet!
Great photos Tom!

And thanks Jeff for creating the guide pages. I was getting ready to edit and post my own of this species a couple weeks ago and couldn't even find the subfamily listed here.

Jay Barnes

 
Thanks Jay
Now we'll have to see your pictures from Ohio. I wonder if there's any geographic variation.

Amazing
!

Great
images! Updated.

 
Thankf Jeff
It's a great mimic, I really thought this was an ant, and it's a jumping spider.

 
It
is believed to resemble these ants.
It also looks like a male, unless it is possibly the closely related Sarinda hentzi, whose females also have swollen palps.

 
That's odd
that it resembles Pseudomyrmex, they're a southern US and tropical species.
Would any other angles help in the identification?

 
Yes
other angles might help confirm.
If this is S. formica, it's range is eastern US, and there is another species in this genus that is found in FL, along with others in tropical areas outside the US.

 
more angles
Jeff, do these new shots help with the ID?

 
Yes
they help. These are some great images of a unique spider!
I believe it is Synemosyna, and if so it is a subadult male.
The species is probably formica.
Maybe it will change colors with the final molt. Did you keep it?
It looks well fed (sated) and may shed soon, making for a 100% positive id and more great images of an adult.

Looking at the thumb for 53279 on the recent page before reading I thought you posted an image of an ant for comparison.

 
Still have it
I'll try to get it to full adult and get more images. I'll post if I get adult pictures.

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