ONH

Habronattus americanus

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  • 6639
  • 5422
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  • 6871
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  • 1190621
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  • 6420cu
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    1 - Habronattus americanus male. Note the irridescent clypeus, just below the front eyes. It can look shiny turquoise or sea green, or dull, depending on the incident light.

    05/15/2009 Port Williams County Park, Sequim, Washington

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    2 - Habronattus americanus male.

    05/15/2009 Port Williams County Park, Sequim, Washington

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    3 - Habronattus americanus female. Her eyes look somewhat oval because of the dark “eye shadow” below the eyes.

    05/01/2009 Port Williams County Park, Sequim, Washington

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    4 - Habronattus americanus, the same female as in slide 3.

    05/01/2009 Port Williams County Park, Sequim, Washington

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    5 - Habronattus americanus female with prey.

    09/11/2008 Blue Mountain/Deer Park, Olympic National Park

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    6 - Habronattus americanus the same female as shown in slide 5.

    05/01/2009 Port Williams County Park, Sequim, Washington

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    7 - Habronattus americanus male with prey, a Picture-winged fly, still alive when this photo was taken.

    09/09/2013 Sunrise Ridge Trail, Olympic National Park, Washington

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    8 - Habronattus americanus, the same individual as shown in slide 7. The male had jumped with the fly off the stem and onto a rock.

    09/09/2013 Sunrise Ridge Trail, Olympic National Park, Washington

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    9 - Habronattus americanus female with prey, a heleomyzid fly.

    05/23/2009 Point Wilson Beach, Fort Worden State Park, Washington

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    10 - Habronattus americanus male.

    05/23/2009 Point Wilson Beach, Fort Worden State Park, Washington

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    11 - Habronattus americanus female. We have noticed that the pattern on the abdomen of different females is not identical. Compare, for example, individuals in slides 11 -14.

    05/09/2009 Port Williams County Park, Sequim, Washington

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    12 - Habronattus americanus female.

    07/10/2010 Hurricane Hill Area, Olympic National Park, Washington

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    13 - Habronattus americanus female.

    07/08/2014 Hurricane Hill Area, Olympic National Park, Washington

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    14 - Habronattus americanus female.

    05/16/2009 Port Williams County Park, Sequim, Washington

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    15 - Habronattus americanus the same female as in slide 14.

    05/16/2009 Port Williams County Park, Sequim, Washington

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    16 - Habronattus americanus male.

    05/01/2014 Port Williams County Park, Sequim, Washington

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    17 - Habronattus americanus male.

    05/01/2014 Port Williams County Park, Sequim, Washington

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    18 - Habronattus americanus female jumps from rock to rock, 1 of 3 images.

    07/10/2010 Hurricane Hill Area, Olympic National Park, Washington

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    19 - Habronattus americanus female jumps from rock to rock, 2 of 3 images.

    07/10/2010 Hurricane Hill Area, Olympic National Park, Washington

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    20 - Habronattus americanus female jumps from rock to rock, 3 of 3 images.

    07/10/2010 Hurricane Hill Area, Olympic National Park, Washington

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    21 - Habronattus americanus male displaying to female, top, with a second male visible at the bottom of the image, some 18 inches away.

    05/15/2009 Port Williams County Park, Sequim, Washington

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    22 - Habronattus americanus male displaying to female, closeup of slide 21.

    05/15/2009 Port Williams County Park, Sequim, Washington

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    23 - The Post Office has honored Habronattus americanus with a stamp in the Insects & Spiders set. Copyright © 2009 United States Postal Service. Steve Buchanan, artist.

We first saw this colorful 5.5 mm jumping spider in summer 2008 at the edge of a trail near the top of Blue Mountain, in Olympic National Park (elevation about 6,000 feet). The characteristic red color on the legs and pedipalps—part of a red, white and blue color scheme—led to identification of the male. We have photographed H. americanus in other mountain locations and on logs on sea-level beaches.

Every time we’ve seen Habronattus americanus, we’ve seen both males and females in the same location. Dr. Wayne Maddison, University of British Columbia, confirmed the female identification from my photos. (See Maddison Jumping Spider Courtship.)

(Thanks to bugguide and Dr. Matthias Buck for identification of the fly in slide 9.)