ID Help

[Slappy]

Hey folks… I found this jumping spider on the steering column/ dash while driving 65mph down the highway
It took me a while to get to a safe spot to stop… the whole time thinking “please don’t jump, please don’t jump” and panicking if it looked at me.

It’s a BEAUTIFUL specimen that I don’t think I’ve seen before, with a metallic-green head, and a tan & orange/brown banded abdomen.
Prof. Google did not yield any photos similar, and the pest-control page listing California species came up scarce of this lil dude, too.

Any input would be appreciated! Thanks.

 

[Nicole C G]

Im not too well versed in western jumpers but I do think I happen to know this species. I believe it’s Salticus palpalis. A female or juvenile.

 

[Slappy]

Im not too well versed in western jumpers but I do think I happen to know this species. I believe it’s Salticus palpalis. A female or juvenile.

Yes! You are correct.
Immediately after I posted the thread I saw the “identification” sticky and got embarrassed
I happened to find it on the first link I clicked.

can I feed it roach nymphs? Or would you recommend isopod babies (mancae? Idk the spelling).
I find a lot of brown jumpers around the house, but never any as pretty as this one.
here is a video of it. I’m not sure how big they’re supposed to be.

 

[Nicole C G]

Roach nymphs are good. (Isopods are hard for jumpers to eat safely from what I’ve heard)
Salticus palpalis are about 5 mm (give or take) at adulthood.

 

[Slappy]

Okay great, thanks! The isopods I offered it last night were about the size of fruit flies and Porcellionidae pruinosis (powder orange) which are pretty soft-bodied compared to Armadillidium and such (easier to break/smoosh than like-sized roaches). I have a separate container of babies inside the colony’s first enclosure that I moved the adults/large juvies out of. I don’t have a lot of dubia roaches (I’ll check if there’s any)— I have nymphs from 3 Eublaberus, lobster, and maybe shadow roaches. The adults have recently been put in their own separate bins, while the nymphs are still in the large compost bin.
i can offer it both and see what it does, I think you’re right it’s a female, so that’s prob nicer than calling her it.

 

[Nicole C G]

Are you planning on keeping her or just feed and release?

 

[Slappy]

Are you planning on keeping her or just feed and release?

I’m not 100% sure yet, but I’m kinda leaning on keeping her. I’m not fond of capturing wild animals, but I have some leniency to my stance when it comes to small inverts.

I’ve got wild isopods— there’s some really nice (probably) A. vulgare morphs that hang out in/under my grow bags with lots of yellow. That culture also has red wiggler worms that originally were in the compost bin, but a lot of them climbed out when it was new and they moved to the growbags a few feet away lol, and some native millipedes that were found with the isopods/works. American cockroaches that wander into my home get put in the composting bin, and I have one black feigning death beetle and one Pterostichus madidus (I think).

here’s one of my favorite isopods from the culture.

And 2nd favorite of the ones I dug up for examples + a few “pretty” ones


I found an absolutely incredible one a couple years ago, but I don’t have it anymore. I’m hoping if I keep the “pretty” ones together, I can get more that looked like this one I had two years ago.