The Peacock spider or Gliding spider (Maratus volans) is a species of jumping spider.
Octavius Pickard-Cambridge noted in his original description that “it is difficult to describe adequately the great beauty of the colouring of this spider”.
The red, blue and black colored males have flap-like extensions of theabdomen with white hairs that can be folded down. They are used for display during mating: the male raises his abdomen, then expands and raises the flaps so that the abdomen forms a white-fringed, circular field of color. The species, and indeed the whole genus Maratushave been compared to peacocks in this respect. The third pair of legs is also raised for display, showing a brush of black hairs and white tips. While approaching the female, the male will vibrate his abdomen while waving raised legs and tail, and dance from side to side.[1]
Both sexes reach about 5 mm in body length. Females and immatures of both sexes are brown but have colour patterns by which they can be distinguished from related species. [read more]
one of my favorite species ^-^
My cat scared the hell out of me by bringing me this giant spider.
Thankfully it turned out to be plastic.
I don’t know where it came from. But it was terrifying.
Happy Turkey Day from Adorable Spiders!
(the turkey was traced from a spider body print :)
i dont care what anyone says this is still the greatest mass effect comic ever
Jumping spiders with water droplet hats. (These photos were taken by Uda Dennie. I claim credit for none of them.)
Jumping spiders are the most fashionable spiders.
Raindrops on
rosesand whiskers on kittens…Raindrops on spiders may become one of your favorite things thanks to this fun gallery put together by Wired.“Do you like my hat?
My hat is water.”
An adult female jumping spider (Phiale mimica) from the rainforest of La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. The spider is seen here waving her front legs, presumably mimicking the waving antennae of a velvet ant. The large, fuzzy and brightly colored velvet ant, which is actually a wingless wasp, has a painful sting. Mimicing them gives the spider protection from predators. This species in particular appears to be mimicking a velvet ant in the genus Dasymutilla.
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