Nocturnal jumping spiders

Discuss natural history subjects not strictly related to birds. Reports of interesting mammal, reptile, and invertebrate sightings are welcome.
flossiepip
Posts: 191
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 6:27 pm

Nocturnal jumping spiders

Postby flossiepip » Thu Apr 23, 2020 2:24 pm

Can Salticidae (jumping spiders) be nocturnal? Seems wrong with their big daytime hunting eyes but going out at night with a torch and camera I see Golden/Brown, Trite auricoma jumping spiders everywhere clearly doing what all other Salticidae jumping spiders do in the day time only doing those things in the dark night. I have seen this spider during the day time but mainly in the early light of the morning and then they vanish till night time again. I go out with the camera a lot at night and all other jumpers are tucked up in a rolled up leaf or hanging from a single thread, you rarely see them active but the Golden/Brown is everywhere and very active.
Is this just in our garden at night or have others noticed it to! It does make you think that they have to be more nocturnal than diurnal but with those large daytime hunting front eyes a little
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odd if it is the case.
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Jan
Posts: 1871
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2009 10:43 am
Location: Christchurch

Re: Nocturnal jumping spiders

Postby Jan » Mon Apr 27, 2020 9:50 am

That is really interesting. Our dorty is in Canberra at the Dept of Health where she works very long hours at present and bikes home after dark. She's been seeing really large wolf spiders out at night, they also have large frontal eyes that glow in her bike light. These spiders are the size of a hand and live in holes beside the track. They only seem to come out at night. She isn't sure which species thay are. I have some photos that I could put on the new Zealand Birders fb page, maybe.
flossiepip
Posts: 191
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 6:27 pm

Re: Nocturnal jumping spiders

Postby flossiepip » Sun May 10, 2020 5:07 pm

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Golden/Brown male with a successful night time hunt.
flossiepip
Posts: 191
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 6:27 pm

Re: Nocturnal jumping spiders

Postby flossiepip » Sun May 31, 2020 2:05 pm

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A while since I've been out with a torch and a camera at night but again have to say that these jumping spiders were everywhere in the dark late night many with prey, must say still, you only see them out at night.
Jim_j
Posts: 699
Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2013 1:04 pm

Re: Nocturnal jumping spiders

Postby Jim_j » Mon Jun 01, 2020 11:21 am

Wow - some great photos.

Cheers
Jim

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