Give a Jumping Spider a Snack
Spiders and I are not great friends. I've learned to appreciate them more in recent years but I still don't want them near me. Somehow they sense this and in spite of their (assumed) natural instinct to avoid danger by not crawling on the giant ape, they crawl on the giant ape and freak her out.
Still, there are several in my house. Probably more than several.
One of which I gave a snack today.
A fuzzy and surprisingly large jumping spider was hanging out on a hoya in my IKEA RUDSTA greenhouse (I might make a post about all my greenhouses in the future). It's pretty common to find a spider or two on my house plants, and I leave them be ("I pray nobody kills me for the crime of being small") but this one was so big I really wanted to put it outside. I just had a vivid vision of innocently watering my plants later and the little shit jumping on me from the shadows.
Pretty sure this little one is Phidippus audax, or the bold jumping spider. They have iridescent green chelicerae (mouthparts) and a white triangle on their abdomen.
I was able to get it into a plastic cup when an idea struck me: what if I made it my pet? I have terrarium in an IKEA ÅKERBÄR that would be a nice home for it.
Before anyone comes for me, no I'm not serious. Jumping spiders do make cool pets and I see them all the time at reptile and exotic pet expos, but the terrarium has large gaps at the top where the spider can easily escape. If they want to leave they can, but for now they get to enjoy a hotel stay and a free meal.
I keep mealworms as feeders for my other animals and I'm being overrun with pupa (the stage between mealworm and darkling beetle) at the moment. Once the little guy was in the terrarium I offered a pupa via tongs and they snatched it up right away!
A couple hours later they were still munching away in a corner. My new spider friend is welcome to stay if they want, but as I said before they can easily leave. Not that I don't have plenty of mealworms for them, but the terrarium is also home to Porcellio dilatatus isopods and I don't want them preyed upon.
Let this be a message to all the spiders in my house: don't crawl on me and maybe I'll give you a snack.