A quick movement along the stem caught my eye. Was that one of those little signal flies with the black-patterned wings? It disappeared around the opposite side of the stem, then reappeared, black-spotted appendages flicking. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be not a fly at all but a spider, waving its long forelegs around each time it stopped its quick, short burst of motion. Each foreleg had a small black patch partway down, with a short fringe of black hair as additional decoration. What was it doing there on the milkweed, dashing about the stem and leaves, semaphoring with tiny, invisible flags. Or conducting a wee unseen orchestra, perhaps. Was it trying to fool its prey into thinking it was a harmless fly (sure fooled me!)? Was it trying to make itself look big and scary, to ward off predators?
Neither, it seems. This little spider seems to be Tutelina elegans, a jumping spider. Like its relatives, T. elegans males woo their mates with an erotic dance, flashing those extra-long legs with the handsome fringe in an elaborately choreographed sequence. Females are a shiny iridescent green with a larger abdomen, and lack the long, expressive forelegs.
No comments:
Post a Comment