Posted by Paul West on July 6, 2008

Q: At our home just south of Orlando International airport, we have this "cute" spider hanging out around our doorwall. As near as I can tell it's a Salticidae Phidippus regius, although it's a colorful version. Most of the photos on salticidae.org show black and white colorings save for one on the bottom of the male/female pictures that is colored similar to the one we have. I saw this one one morning a few months back, wondering what the large dark object was on the outside of the glass. Turned out to be the spider enjoying a large beetle for brunch. It's reasonably well behaved, alternating running around on the walls of the porch, on the doorwall, between the doorwall and screen or on the inside of the doorwall. My wife is spider-phobic and is mostly OK with them if they stay outside, but whoa unto any spider that sets foot indoors; they get the book thrown at them. Literally.

Habitat: suburban/yard

State: Florida

Habitat: suburban/yard

A: Really nice photos and very interesting to see the large beetle your jumping spider has captured. I think you're right on the money with your identification. I looked up some photos of this species and see that there are some variations in color - your animal looks like the orange form of Phidippus regius as you mentioned.

Nice to see that you have an "environmentally friendly" view of spiders. I realize they can be scary for people but they really do help control insect populations and deserve our respect. Thanks for sharing.

John Wiessinger ( July 7, 2008)