jumping spider (Carrhotus viduus)

The various types of spiders scattered around our nature are a wonderful subject for macro photography. The interesting spider you see in the picture is actually a jumping spider. It is a spider of the Carrhotus viduus species, which is well known for its beautiful colors and fast movement. Unlike ordinary spiders, they do not wait for prey by weaving webs, but are more adept at catching prey by jumping.

​Scientific name:
According to the scientific classification of biology, the scientific name of this spider is Carrhotus viduus. In 1846, scientist Carl Ludwig Koch was the first to describe and name this species scientifically. In the scientific community, this spider has several other synonyms, of which Plexippus viduus and Attus viduus are quite notable.

Family and Genus:
This spider is a wonderful member of the vast phylum Arthropoda and class Arachnida of the animal kingdom. It belongs to the family Salticidae, which is mainly a family of jumping spiders under the order Araneae. Its genus or genus name is Carrhotus and it is considered as the type species or ideal species of this genus.

​Size and body structure:
The female and male spiders of this species look completely different. The spider sitting on the leaf in your wonderful photos is a female spider. The main body color of the female spiders is orange and their abdomen has various yellow and orange spots or patterns. Their head and chest (cephalothorax) are red and brown in color, with white spots transversely below the eyes. Their abdomen is wide at the beginning, but gradually narrows towards the back and becomes angular. Their legs are black and their abdomen is white. Their silk-making organs (spinnerets) are very clearly visible at the very end of the abdomen. On the other hand, male spiders are mainly black in color and have two wide white spots on their heads.

​Habitat and habitat:
These jumping spiders mainly live widely in South and Southeast Asian countries. They are most commonly seen in nature from India, Sri Lanka to China, Myanmar and Vietnam in the east. They usually feel comfortable living in tropical and subtropical forests, and even in local gardens. They especially prefer to stay under the dense foliage of small trees and shrubs.

​Food:
Like other jumping spiders in the Solticidae family, they are also very fast predators. They usually move very quickly and can jump suddenly for self-defense or when they sense danger. They hunt and eat various small insects, such as flies, mosquitoes or other small insects, hiding around the leaves of trees. Because their eyesight is very keen, they easily catch their prey with perfect jumps.

​Reproduction:
The reproduction process of these spiders is the same as that of other common spiders. After mating, the female spider makes an egg sac with silk threads behind the leaves of trees or in a safe place and lays eggs there. The eggs hatch and small spider chicks come out, which change their shells several times and become full-fledged spiders.

​Benefits:
These jumping spiders are very beneficial for our environment and ecosystem. They hunt and eat numerous harmful insects in gardens and crop fields. They work great as natural protectors, especially against mosquitoes and other small harmful insects, which helps maintain the balance of the environment.

Harmfulness:
These jumping spiders are not harmful to humans. They are very shy and generally avoid humans. They are not poisonous and their bites do not cause any harm to humans. These spiders roaming the leaves of the garden are a symbol of the health of the environment.

I hope you like the information.

I learned about them from various sites including iNaturalist, Wikipedia and Google.

_{​*(All posts are written in Bengali and translated into English using Google Translate.) *}
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Camera Used	Samsung SM-G973F
F-Stop	F2.4
ISO speed	ISO
Focal length	26mm
Flash	No
Editing app	Lightroom
Photography	(Carrhotus viduus)
Photographer	Hive account@mshbd
Location	Purulia, Natore, Bangladesh