Today I looked up to see a small jumping spider (~5 mm) on the window screen. Upon taking a closer look, it had strong black and white stripes on the abdomen and seemed worth photographing. Here are a few quick shots:
A close-up of the beautiful eyes and bright white palps from above.
Although new to identifying jumping spiders, I think this is a Zebra Spider (Salticus scenicus). Gleaning information from the Internet, it sounds like this is a commonly encountered salticid, often found around buildings and yards, on walls, rocks, fences, and windowsills.
Salticus scenicus has a Holarctic distribution — it is widespread and occurs in the Nearctic (northern North America) and the Palearctic (Europe and northern Asia). Look for one on a windowsill near you!
It will be interesting to see how many species of jumping spiders live on Bodega Head.
So fuzzy!
ReplyDeleteClaudia