Saturday, May 25, 2024

Scarlet jumper

 I was planting scarlet runner bean seedlings along a sunny wall, when I saw this spider, matching the future colour of the scarlet runner flowers. She was already running for cover, and disappeared down a crack. I went for the camera and came back to wait for her.

After a while, she came out into the sunlight again, timidly, at first.

Johnson's Jumping spider, Phidippus johnsoni, female

Look at those turquoise fangs!

Then she came out into the open, but I moved, and she turned back towards her hiding place, but stopped where she could keep a back eye on me. Curious critters, these are!

Giving me the side eye.

She has eight eyes: four in front, two tiny ones on the side of her head that look at the world in black and white, and two slightly larger ones farther back; these let her see what's happening behind her back. (I could have used a pair of those sometimes!) 

Looking me square in the eye.

And then I moved again, trying to adjust the manual focus on the camera. That was too much for her; she scooted back down her crack, and I went back to my gardening.

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Estaba trasplantando unas plántulas de frijol corredor escarlata (Phaseolus coccineus) contra una pared asoleada, cuando sorprendí esta araña, que lleva el mismo color de las flores futuras. Ya cuando la vi, ya corría a esconderse dentro de una grieta. Fui a traer la cámara y me senté a esperarla. Después de un buen rato, se asomó otra vez, con cuidado.

Fotos: 

    1: Araña saltadora Johnson, Phidippus johnsoni. ¡Mira esos quelíceros color turquesa!

    2: Salió al sol, pero me acerqué un poco, y se dió vuelta y volvió a esconderse. Pero estas arañas tienen una fuerte curiosidad; se detuvo donde los ojos posteriores me podrían observar.

Estas arañas tienen ocho ojos. Los cuatro en frente, los principales. Luego dos muy pequeños a los lados; estos ven en blanco y negro solamente. Y más atrás, otros dos ojos que le permiten ver lo que pasa detrás de ella. (¡Yo hubiera querido tener unos a veces!)

    3: Ahora me mira de frente.

Y luego moví la mano, tratando de ajustar el enfoque de la cámara, y la espanté.

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