Macro Video of an Adult Male Phidippus mystaceus Jumping Spider

[lorigmat]

Watching your videos makes me smile... Thank you

[rosetikvah]

I love jumping spiders. They are so inquisitive. I've had them jump on my camera while taking pics because they're just curious! Check out ~1:30...he rubs his eye - LOL

[snowythegreat]

Just beautiful. There's nothing else I can say!

[cusanusnicolas]

Keep the music, don't listen to anyone who doesn't like it. There's a volume control if you need it.

[Lycandingo]

It's soooooooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu­ute o,,o!

[KnoxBlondie]

I think the song well suits the video. Bravo, well done.

[dmeyer2626]

Mr. Terser you sir are a Master. Thank-you.

[drakemanification]

0:18 - 0:19 = BOOM HEADSHOT!!! XD

[NOSEfilms]

OH god! It jumped at me!

[sirtechy]

Any1 where to look to find one of these Phidippus mystaceus?

[mesha1ism]

I enjoyed Your video

[nismo6750]

Love it!! He's awesome! Never saw one that color. I've got a few black and white ones that I'm trying to film in slow motion attacking flys and battling other non-jumping spiders

[RavzorX]

He likes you ! Awesome videos man xD

[Hexiva]

That . . . is adorable. Fuzzy little spider with big eyes! Where do they live?

[Torn80cj]

@Hexiva He found this one in the Eastern half of Oklahoma. I know North Carolina has some too, so that should at least give you an idea of what area they live in inside the United States. I haven't seen one yet, but hope to find one soon.

[mwalsher]

He’s so cute when he’s cleaning his eyes.

[jmurphy914]

We are big fans Tom! Keep up the great music and cute spider vids. XD

[Torn80cj]

Beautiful jumper to say the least. He looks perfect to live among the red cedars.

[somenonimportantguy]

Why doesn't it bite you?

[Torn80cj]

@somenonimportantguy He is handling it correctly. Jumping spiders or any other spider will only bite if they're provoked. I handle jumpers and other types of spiders pretty often, it's usually spiders that are trapped, squeezed or spooked really bad that will bite. They only bite if it's a last ditch effort to save their own life or to defend their eggs or nest. Spiders actually try their best to avoid biting, because they know a defensive reaction will be returned by the one who's being bit.

[binaryanarchist]

I named my cat Phidippus mystceus after this spider. When she was a kitten she used to jump around like a jumping spider

[razberryl]

What a cute little guy! He's like a cat!

[Sseminole7]

I just spent the better part of an hour photographing a P. mystaceus and they are very beautiful. Great to see a video too! Amazing!

[terser]

@Sseminole7 - Great! - send me a link if you post the images online - I'd love to see them! I actually have another male P. mystaceus right next to me that I plan on photographing sometime soon - looks like he may be even better looking than the guy seen here.

[MrQuick1]

Visually speaking, the footage and video quality are impressive. The close-up of the mandibles and fangs as he cleaned his eyes was particularly impressive.

[appplay721]

amazing find! i am a huge fan of your photography! i too take macro's of jumpers with a 28mm reverse but i dont have extension tubes yet, ill have to get those soon. this species is in my opinion the most beautiful. My mom actually hates spiders but showing her my macro's and yours, i got her to think jumpers were actually really cute. funny, huh? anyways, great work!

[CarnivoreAdaption]

Awww, what a cutie. I love it when he cleans his eyes.

[jmurphy914]

My Girl and myself are absolutely loving this spider and the song. This song HAS to be for sale! Great job! She searched the net for our spider she took a macro of and found it to be a jumping spider. We think the one which lives outside, on my wall, is so cute (and im not usually a spider fan).. It looks just like the one in this video. We watched this and instantly fell in love with the song. My girl says she wants to hang out with you and trade macros, so thanks for stealing my woman.ha ha

[Rubydooby1000]

excellent and I like the music with it, glad you got your find, well worth the effort.

[yrrehCMan]

Hate spiders!

[ola2991]

awwww, so cute :>

[requiem166]

Beautiful little spider and great music. ;)

[linartis]

cute =)

[CarlosIsDown]

I found a jumping spider in my back hard. It had really blue fangs and an orange back with a little black line in his middle. IT was cool, but i'm quasi arachnophobic. I kinda want to catch it/ take video of it.

[aphexZero69]

___WTF YouTube___

error, error, error

[aphexZero69]

For the music look at his website!

It's "Mount Vesuvius".

[aphexZero69]

Hmm, can't post the site here. Look at his other videos, the site is noted somewhere in the descriptions.

[CYB3RFI5H]

This is soo cute when she jumps into the lens or when she wipes off her eyes (I think it's a girl huh? :D). And your song is beautiful too! <3 Any chance to get that song? =)

[Nic7320]

Bravo!!!

[sixxgunxquota]

I thought it was this spider, but I have a jumping spider around here that is gray/ dark gray with stripes that I think is hilarious. With their excellent vision, I find it funny how they will turn and look at you. Looks like that guy thought the camera was quite interesting, lol

[craniumbear]

wow, love these jumping spiders. so cute!

[youwiko]

very good

see also:

Youtupe or Google Video

I9nA7-MelSY

Male jumping spider attack cameraman

[Elephantintheroom01]

2:25 I wonder what those four strands of hair are for.

[quickshooter100]

stunning ! really like this !

[UnderageSexSyndrome]

sec. 41 hahahah rox!

[OnSolitudeSaid]

ale on piękny <33

[simpsoncheat]

wow it scared me when it jumped on the camera XD

[itchytoke]

Great video!

I'm another of those people in the minority who actually like spiders :)

[richifuz]

Hey man, thanks for these wonderfull 2:34 minutes  I´m in a very hard moment and your music ,your pasion for this make me feel better .

Greetings from Peru , South America

[klarcom1]

beautiful.

[lanora]

I absolutely love jumping spiders! Actually I love most spiders. People don't realize how beautiful they are because you have to stop and look due to their tiny size. Thanks for the video and the great photos I am so happy I found your flicker site!

[1Heretic]

Those spiders are very smart

[luckymisselala]

i am afraid of spiders but this little guy is kinda cute, got a little nervice when he jumped . great video thanks. 5/5

[nergregga]

I like salticids, they almost have facial expressions with their big eyes and wild hair

[kurtu5]

Any song with pyroclastic flow in it and any video with jumping spiders is a Win.

[terser]

Flawless reasoning.

[Daveyohwhat]

Pretty. :o)

[seruslymental]

I bet the little guy packs a punch with those fangs - probably like the worst bee sting ever.. lol awesome vid :)

[fuckamerica109]

amazing!

[kyleman1313]

Unbelievably funny music!

[jxdigital]

Hi Terser, thanks for uploading, nice example for the Deshaker plugin. I'm experimenting with it myself too.

One question though: Did you upscale it to HD? Because as far as I know the Canon A720 IS can only record 640x480 max?

[iamtheclay]

wow, music is great. you are amazingly gifted!

[gagnersl]

this is amazing, i'm a little afraid of spiders and i still couldn't turn away

[xenoprobe1111]

wow, i love this little guy!! I could totally imagine him sitting on my shoulder, whispering in my ear, "Be careful of THAT chick, she'll bite your head off and eat you when she's done mating!"

[IsaAlorah]

Fff- I learned about these crazy little spiders about a month ago. I think I fell in love with this guy. He has a curious and calm air about him that has me making gooshy faces at the screen.

Awesome video, thank you so much for sharing! Even the music was fantastic to listen to. :]

[jonno52]

Amazing video. I've tried photographing spiders & it is not at all easy. AND you did the music ? Phew!! Great stuff.

[KoeniginderSpinne]

Ohhh... -oOOo- What a gorgeous P. mystaceus!!! This is the first male I have seen. I know this find was as if you found a million Gold Bricks!!!! What a great Video of him...do you have others of him? I for one would LOVE to see more! TY so much for sharing this! It really made my day! :-)

[CisMediaGuy]

i admire your photography, and when the spider was staying calm it was kind of cute, but the second that thing jumped, if I had been in your position, I might have peed myself. When you had it crawling on your skin, I felt it on mine.

[Northisbest]

Fantastic beautiful.

Awesome spider. Stunning video. 5 Stars

[jeffreygxd]

..HE is AWESOME! Great find, great capture.

[darkcontours]

hehehehe what a cutie! i never noticed how cute lil animals could be til i saw these things! i finally see how pretty just a regular fat fly is!!! they are shiny and pretty! oh and now i love bees!!!!

[TheSuperProfessional]

I am amazed it didn't jump on the camera...

[riverdale999]

@TheSuperProfessional: It did at 0:20.

[graceinmay]

also, this music is very nice! who plays it?

[graceinmay]

he's very cute! i love how small he is. :)

[skyloader]

spiders are cool. thx!

[dehbee]

hes adorable! ^_______^

[thebatzinator]

I hate spiders... but this was actually kinda cute. I love macro video... thanks for posting this.

[PatricioBridges]

What an awesome video. Actually it's kind of cute....for a spider.

[pxyane]

Great video. Funny that the Google ad that Google added was for exterminators!! Probably the wrong crowd for exterminators, no? ;-)

[scw1217]

The music so fitted the video, cute! I dislike spiders (as in, on me) and can't fathom that you did that. However, that said, as a photographer, they are really cool. I have male and female Phidippus regis living at my house, though I haven't seen one recently. Very interesting creatures!

[pttx2000]

Thank you for creating a posting such a magnificent macrovideo. That is an amazing little spider. The jumping spiders around my house always fascinate me with their bravery and curiosity....and of course amazing jumping strength. It is nice to see one of their cousins up close.

[kanderso1]

My favorite thing about this is that, whenever you watch any animal for a long time, you really get a sense of their personality. I first noticed this with my birds and how they respond in any given situation, each one acting in their own unique way. I see the same thing when I watch this video. Very cool.

[adj789]

those look like some big red fangs for its size

[chrstphrgthr]

Not nit-picking (which means I am, good-naturedly), but those are its first pair of legs. You can see the fangs in the close-up, where the spider's cleaning its eyes. The fangs are black and proportional to body size.

[helarson]

Ah perspective it's a wonderful thing it's all just relative.

[tubeontime]

This is so cool. Thank you for sharing this, I love it!

[guernica10]

beautiful spider

[Angelofmcy]

In the first 17 secs of this video, this spider looks like an old man with sunglasses on, who is grooming his beard. It's hilarious! I love these macro films, they're cool.

[glove888]

Damn dude... It hella funny... I like it :D

[ArtieatsRamen]

Hehe it's kinda cute.

[TRAVISinRENO]

i know i never thought of a spider as cute till i saw this video i think the music helps makes it seem like hes this guys lil best freind

[Elementalcontroller]

hes cute but if he was near me i wouldve freaked out and squashed him.

[vampladyandrea]

I'm not a big fan of spiders but he was kinda cute.

[terrycomputer]

I like the music. I think it goes well. It's like a cowboy spider vibe going on. As for "IauthenticI", you give your opinion too much value, really, not everyone cares what you think. Try that perspective once in awhile, it might help you with your issues.

[IauthenticI]

I like it when it cleans it's eyes. Awesome arachnid. Although the music is part of your persona and might have thought it went well with the video, it actually deters me from favoring it. 4****

[terser]

That's alright - I know not everyone is crazy about my music. I plan on keeping it a bit more "background" in the future :)

Glad you enjoyed the spider itself though - that's the important part!

[talenta77]

@terser Well don't go and do that.. Your interest in these creatures is a strong display of your personality, along with your preference in music.. Helps people understand the world through your eyes I think.. I've watched this video like 30 times in the last year lol, never came to comment since it's already been said many times but.. This is a Great video, highly respect the work you put into this and the flawless song choice. :D

[RPMayette]

This is a wonderful video - thank you for expressing your artistic vision in a way that brings such a beautiful creature to the rest of the world. I've always liked jumping spiders, and your videos bring them to life like nothing else can. Thank you!

[16thScooter]

Beautiful little guy. I wish more people thought of them as more than creepy crawlies.

[viriduspuck]

Absolutely beautiful. well done

need song title

[halcitron]

Beautiful.

The subject seems to have a personality.

[chuckles1903]

WTF

[12fu12fu]

That little guy is so cute!

[liznjim63]

awesome video, my 7 year old daughter and I loved it! Just glad it wasn't on my hand!

[swiftkickinthaass]

Awesome ! You can really see the details in this little fellow

[maha77]

I think I am in heaven now that I have discovered your channel

[ihagtafuith]

You pictures and videos are fantastic, was wondering what kind of camera and lens are you using for those stunning macros?

[SimpleThingsOfLife]

Ouaw it's amazing. It's a beautiful video

5/5

[BixbyCanada]

Cool. Thanks for sharing. I too am interested in the song used for this. Great pairing. :)

[e3nvision]

Fantastic. Going to show this ASAP to my 10 year old boy.

Before (in case?) the youtube music cops yank it, what's the song you paired this with?

[terser]

Great - kids seem to love jumpers!

And I'm proud to say the song is one of my own. Written, sung, played, and recorded myself.

[wolphintv]

Aww, he looks positively shy at the 2.20 mark.

[zackmartin00]

Wow, 1:28 -look at those fangs. Great video, I have never seen anything like this.

[jackkoffin1]

I like it! :D

[insan0B]

the only salticids i seem to find here in miserable old England are zebra jumpers, Salticus scenicus. they're so tiny. i wish we had big jumpers in England :--(

[terser]

I have noticed that the arthropod life in the UK is particularly dull in relation to other parts of the world. Just keep an eye out an explore new areas and plants. But remember - any spider is a good spider, and the UK does have a few interesting salticids!

But of course - nothing close to the beauty of American salticids! :)

[insan0B]

this is why i envy you so; the UK's biggest jumper is Marpissa muscosa, reaching 11mm in body length. but i live in the North East, and they're all the way down south. i think im going down to dorset next year though. we've also got Heliophanus sp, Evarcha, Atypus and Myrmarachne sp. but again, DOWN SOUTH. i hate where i live

[TheFreakypoo]

cool video did u keep it?

[terser]

Nope, I let him go. I'm worried that if I keep any salticid in captivity too long I might harm them in some way or cause a premature death.

[ananumuss]

so cool. thanks for sharing

[gavincareyuk]

You must like spiders. If that had jumped on my camera I would have thrown it into the woods and ran off lol. Nice work and great pics on Flickr

[terser]

Of course I like them! When these salticids jump at you or your camera, they have no malicious intents, they just simply want to jump - that's what they do!

[abikeOdyssey]

great find, congrats on finally getting one of your holy grail species...and it sure was outstanding, definitely worth the trouble to photograph I'm sure!

[terser]

Thanks, the annoyance and pain of photographing these guys is always worth it in the end.

[sunshine4537]

Amazing vid!

[KawaiiKemonomimi]

Cute. I'd love to find these. I have P. johnsoni and audax.

[nik282000]

Amazing, i never noticed until i started filming them how often jumping spiders groom their feet and eyes.

[BobCsAll]

Awesome vid Terser, it's going on my favorites! Love his four head hair barbs...nice colors too! Wish some nice colorful jumpers, like this one and your cardinal were in West MI. Bob

[Rockingreveler]

Nice! Yours jumped around alot more than mine did. Cool!

[liewwk]

thanks for sharing on this beautiful jumping

[tomatitoo]

BEAUTIFULL SPIDER......!!

[DaddyNewt]

Great work!

[terser]

Thanks! I just checked out you account on flickr and read that you're a commerical editor!

Admittedly, my video editing skills aren't my strong suit, but it's certainly an interesting aspect of video production. Not much thought went into the compsition of the clips in this video, but when it's all compiled together like this - I think it works in kind of an odd dreamy way.

[strivingx67]

Really nice video my friend. Such a beauty. Also saw your images at BugGuide. Great stuff. Seems he loved to hop on to the lens... lol. Most jumpers are pretty friendly.

Thanks for the vid. Nice work.

[Siewpor]

Did you put any attachments on your Canon A720 IS? Reveresed a 28mm in it?

[terser]

For the really close up bits (where he's cleaning his eyes) I held a 50mm prime lens in front of the camera and just kind of used it like a magnifying glass.

[smearsmell]

Not sure if I have asked you this before, but what camera do you have? Thanks

[terser]

For the video, I'm using a little point n' shoot Canon A720 IS digital camera.

For my actual macrophotography stills (the last shot in the video) I'm using a Pentax K200D SLR.

[LlGANNA]

Wonderful!

[ShawDAMAN]

Great spider!! Love the coloring and the exaggerated spikey hairdo. :P And check out those fangs at 1:28!

[terser]

Jumpers don't get much cooler than this little guy. It's hard to explain just how much time I have spent searching for this species - just about everytime I've gone out hunting for bugs over the last 3 years, P. mystaceus has been in the back of my mind.

[ShawDAMAN]

That's great you finally found what you were looking for, must be exciting (lol) :D

Would I be too nosy to inquire where you live? (at least roughly?) You seem to have a considerable variety of jumpers there... Where I live we have quite a few but mostly just variations of black/brown/grey, nothing too exotic =) I did, however, see 2 babies a couple weeks ago with zebra-like black and white stripes! Didn't have a camera though.....