Smallest hunter

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black jumping spider ice plant 7.jpg
Can you see the drop on his head? :D

It's funny how many of those little creatures is constantly around us and we don't even realize that.

I was walking around a small garden admiring the waterdrops that were left on the leaves after the rain. I was hoping for some insects. Some of the larder ones like butterflies or bumblebees. Heck.. even some ugly moth would do.
And there was nothing
Nada!

I sat down on a little brick wall next to a small bush of Iceplant and just looked at it. And there it was. The smallest, beyond adorable jumping spider!

And damn he was busy looking for some small bugs to eat.

black jumping spider ice plant 1.jpg

Can you see giant the stop is above the spider?
He doesn't care :)

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Looking up, down, jumping from one leaf to another. They do play hard to get!

I tried to make him jump to my hand, and he did. But just for one second. I didn't even manage to take a single photo of that. Not even a blurry one.

For now those are the only spiders I would let sit on my hands.

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Just a few branches away a big black ant was scouting the leaves too.

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Then he decided to check what's going on on that Oalis leaf below. Jumped down...
walker around it for a bit.
No food again.

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A quick hop on a glass leaf..

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And back to the ice plant. It must be more reliable source of food. Knowing that little aphids and other small flies often live on it, he must be right.

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Top of the leaves provide the best view!
Every spider knows that!

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One more weird bug I found on the same bush. No idea what it is. It was ugly and very static :p
Not dead. Probably just cold and wet.

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Bonus shot: the Ice plant itself. It was about to bloom with the pretty, dark pink flowers.

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»«
Shot with Nikon D5500 + Sigma 105mm lens
All photos and text are my own.



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45 comments
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Bang, I did it again... I just rehived your post!
Week 84 of my contest just started...you can now check the winners of the previous week!
!PIZZA
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Woow it's so tiny and beautiful, love the caption🤩 thankU!!

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He is freaking adorable!
Thanks :)

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I did not know there was such a thing as jumping spiders. It's a good thing I don't mind spiders, now that I do know. Fabulous shots, as always. so good...

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Google them! There is so many colorful types it's unreal. They are awesome :D

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You are so brave! Facing the spider! ...so cute...🕷 😅...

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I though he was gonna kill me and suck all the juices! But I feared not. I took the photos!
and run away later

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I dont know what technique you capture the object, its so amazing😍

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No technique.. Just regular photos :)
Thanks!

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They are hilariously funny 🙃 those staring eyes 👀

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And they tilt their head sometimes, like if they were watching you and tried to understand what you are doing. Cute creatures.

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I love Natural View. Everyday I will try to travel some village for take natural View. It is my hoby

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That is a good hobby!

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OMG how beautiful this little creature is! It reminds me of this one somehow :)

Renault_FT-17_Light_Tank.jpg

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He probably feels like a tank when he is on a hunting mission :)

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That is so cool! ❤️ magnificent details and view.
Love your photography style. Great work dear @ewkaw

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You have survived the deadliest encounter to date, and still got super clear shots... I must learn

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The adrenaline got into my head.. I remember nothing!

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I love macro photography. We are surrounded by many miniature creatures and objects that we do not even think about. Awesome photography ... a joy to the eyes. Thank you :)

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Thanks! That's what I like about macrophotography. It sees everything :)

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We appreciate your work and your post has been manually curated by zoology team (oscurity,nelinoeva) on behalf of Amazing Nature Community. Keep up the good work!

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Really cute little guy! It’s amazing how perfect such a tiny little animal is.

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Yeaaa :) They are fun to watch too.

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How cute is that first little dude! Those eyes 👀

Great captures 👏

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Thanks! The charm of a jumping spider :D Can't resist those eyes staring at you :)

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Well, humun, it seems you had a busy day following this cute buddy around ...you observed a small part of the everyday life of a jumping spider....Wonder what was happening in his brain "I wonder if this is the humun thing mantis told me about...I'll jump on it...oh, no it is soft and warm, back to the plant...and why does it keep pushing this black thing in my face" 😄
Love the first picture, and the water drop is still on his head on the picture where he/she is going for the best view...on top of the leaf...as every spider knows...😄

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Hahah I think he got tired of me staring at him and finally hid somewhere.
Humuns can be annoying.. every spider knows that too :D

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There s nothing like spying on little creatures in the garden! This spider is a cutie and you took awesome shots @ewkaw. I love the story you wrote as well, so captivating 💚😍💚

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Thank you! There is so many of them around, but they are fast and hide well.
Cute little things :)

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