Phidippus audax (Hentz, 1845) Discussion

Comments on August 28, 2007 Observation

Lezlie A Kehr
44.9629, -124.0034
1    
Submitted: August 28, 2007 at 11:37:28 PM MST

I was gardening and found this spider in among my daylillies as I was cutting them back.  Had I known it was a jumping spider I would have never gotten near it.  It never acted aggressive and barely moved when we caught it.  What impressed me about it was it's size and the green irridescent? fangs. (I know that is not what they are but am not sure of the proper name)  Now I'm not sure what to do with it?  I also don't know if it is a male or female.  Any idea how to tell?

Quoting Lezlie A Kehr: ...she (pretty sure it is female, now) lost one leg and half of another. I have not seen her jump and am afriad that she can't. Will she be able to hunt and survive if I let her go?...Quote End

It's not too terribly likely she can still hunt if it was one of the hind or forelegs legs she lost, but you never know. Wish I could give a definitive answer. If you wish to keep her in captivity and continue to feed her, that is entirely your decision. Although spiders like the black widow can get enough water through their prey items, it may help to put a water-soaked cotton ball in the enclosure so she can get some extra water.

Quoting David P. Shorthouse: Lezlie, Another word for them is chelicerae, but fangs will do too. Do you need to do anything to it? If I were you, I'd leave it where it was. As for the sex, check out the FAQ page linked from the Spider WebWatch homepage. David Quote End

When we caught the spider, she (pretty sure it is female, now) lost one leg and half of another.  I have not seen her jump and am afriad that she can't.  Will she be able to hunt and survive if I let her go?  We've kept her contained and have been trying to feed her.  It looks like the bugs have been disappearing and she is still active.  Any idea what I should do next?

Lezlie,
Another word for them is chelicerae, but fangs will do too. Do you need to do anything to it? If I were you, I'd leave it where it was. As for the sex, check out the FAQ page linked from the Spider WebWatch homepage.
David