Bold Jumping Spider: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Busy Bugs · day 5 of 7

Five facts

1. Its species name, audax, means bold. One early naturalist wrote that it often leaps right onto a hand that threatens it.
2. A bold jumper has four pairs of eyes arranged around its head, giving it nearly 360° of visual coverage.
3. Before it pounces, a bold jumper releases a silk dragline that tethers it if it falls or misses.
4. Bold jumpers do not build webs, but they have been seen invading other spiders' webs to steal freshly caught insects.
5. A male bold jumper courts a female with a dance: he raises and flicks his front legs, shakes his pedipalps and zigzags sideways.

The quiz

1. What does the species name audax mean?

• Tiny
• Silent
• Bold (correct)
• Striped

Audax is Latin for bold.

2. How much visual coverage do a bold jumper's four pairs of eyes give?

• Nearly 360° (correct)
• About 90°
• About 180°
• Only straight ahead

Its four pairs of eyes give it nearly 360° of visual coverage.

3. What does the silk dragline do?

• It traps the prey
• It carries sounds
• It marks its territory
• It tethers the spider if it falls or misses (correct)

The dragline tethers the spider if it falls or misses.

4. What have bold jumpers been seen doing in other spiders' webs?

• Laying their eggs
• Stealing freshly caught insects (correct)
• Hiding from rain
• Repairing the silk

They have been seen invading other webs to steal freshly caught insects.

5. How does a male bold jumper move during courtship?

• Spinning in a tight circle
• Hanging upside down from silk
• Zigzagging sideways while flicking his front legs (correct)
• Drumming on leaves

He zigzags sideways while raising and flicking his front legs.

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