New Spider Species

Well after I got home from the meadow I uploaded all the images and as I was doing that I heard the hummingbirds raising a fuss by the feeder. So I went to have a look and on one of the feeder holes was this huge spider. I ran inside and grabbed my camera and when I returned it was gone. I knew it could not have gotten far, but to my surprise it was about 2 feet away sitting on a leaf. I set up my tripod and attached the camera with my 100 mm macro. I moved in slowly so I would not spook it, but as I got close it jumped at the camera  lens. I was in awe as I watched this huge jumping spider raise a fuss. After about 5 minutes it settled down and I started to shoot. When I started to use flash it really raised a fuss. It would raise it's front legs and leap forward. After about 30 minutes it decided it had enough of me and the camera and leaped into the lilies. I lost sight of it and was happy to have this awesome encounter with a new species. The next step was to ID it...this proved a tad bit hard, because there are a number of jumping spider species. After a long search I found the species...

Phidippus audax (Bold jumper Spider)

This spider was 1/2 inches long.

Jumping Spider

Today was another beautiful spring day. The high reached 55 degrees and it brought out a few spiders. This jumping spider made his appearance on a rock next to my pond. I was only able to get one quick shot. Jumping spiders don't hold still long, but once in awhile I find one that will hold still for some shots. Jumping spiders are one of the first species to come out in the spring followed by the wolf spider. Every year I search for them and enjoy watching them. They fascinate me and the closer I get to them the better. Going to do a little more spider photography this year than I have done in the past. The season has just begun and I'm loving every minute of it.