The September Spider of the Month (SOTM) is this long-legged dandy jumping spider (Portia schultzi; Salticidae), photographed by Johan van der Waals in Eswatini (Swaziland).
Regarding this find, Johan said:
“I am particularly fascinated by jumping spiders, and the reputation of Portia is very impressive! This individual was a surprise guest on a table at Kamsholo Lodge in Swaziland. She was waving her palps and then cleaned her legs, which allowed me to get a few good shots of her. The ‘pupils’ are the reflections of the ring flash.”
Portia jumping spiders are widely regarded as probably the smartest spiders in the world. Since they hunt other spiders, which are dangerous prey, they have to be smart about it, as one wrong move could mean their demise. They are capable of surveying their environment to formulate the best plan of attack, whether it be stealthily from above, plucking the silk to lure the owner closer, or simply invading the web. They can also learn through trial and error. They prefer web-dwelling spiders but will also hunt free-living spiders, like other jumping spiders, and occasionally insects. The females sometimes build capture webs, which is unusual for a jumping spider. These webs are often joined to another spider’s web.
Both the males and the females have very bushy pedipalps, but the females have white palps while the males have orange palps. They are mostly brown to almost black, so this individual is lighter than usual. This species has longer legs than most other Portia species, hence the common name.
There are 21 recorded Portia species in the world. In South Africa, only this one species is known. Another species, Portia africana, can be found further up north in Africa, as far down south as Mozambique and Angola. Portia strandi has so far been recorded only in Ethiopia. The other members of this genus are found in Asia.
The etymology of the name Portia is not clear. According to some sources, it stems from the Roman name Porcia, which comes from the Latin word porcus, meaning pig. The species was apparently named after Fritz Schultz, who was a German ornithologist but who also dabbled in entomology.
This is Johan’s first SOTM. Of 147 people who voted, his photo received 101 (69%) votes. Congratulations, Johan, and thank you to those who voted.