Comments on: Jumping spiders are awesome.

Jumping spiders are awesome.

lazaruslong — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:02:32 -0800

Jumping spiders use their legs to communicate courtship interests to potential mates. The minuscule impacts of spider legs tapping against the ground surface are detected by nearby spiders. This "drumming" cadence signals the spider's reproductive interests. The female detects the low frequency vibrations through her legs. She responds by allowing the male to mount her. Absolutely amazing video here. The sound is the best part, so make sure it's on.

By: dgaicun

dgaicun — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:10:35 -0800

Welp, I know I'm aroused anyway.

By: LarryC

LarryC — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:12:01 -0800

NSFW.

By: fish tick

fish tick — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:12:47 -0800

That was very, very cool! Pity about the climax, though. I guess it has an unhappy ending?

By: isopraxis

isopraxis — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:22:22 -0800

Wow. That is amazing. Merzbow's got nothing on the jumping spider beats. I'm curious to hear what it sounds like slowed down to half or quarter speed. Great find lazaruslong.

By: mediareport

mediareport — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:22:32 -0800

Whoa. That's some insistent vibrating toward the end there. Too bad there's no info about where it came from.

By: nilihm

nilihm — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:35:10 -0800

More jumping spider courtship.

By: rhizome23

rhizome23 — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:37:12 -0800

I'm trying that in the bar tonight.

By: Mikey-San

Mikey-San — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:38:25 -0800

I am never watching that video. Nope, never. Did I say never? Because I meant never. Is there an emoticon for "shivering in unwashable fright"?

By: lazaruslong

lazaruslong — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:42:07 -0800

I'm usually pretty squicked out by spiders as well, but my utter fascination with this bizarrely vocal mating ritual won out.

By: kittens for breakfast

kittens for breakfast — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:43:00 -0800

Jumping spiders are awesome. They're very social -- if you encounter one in your home, they're likely to lift themselves up on their back legs and open their foremost extremities as if to say, O HAI I AM A SPIDER WULD U LIKE A HUG?!? Sadly, I am sure many (harmless, friendly) jumping spiders have been squashed as a consequence of this behavior.

By: picea

picea — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:44:24 -0800

Oh internet, I can't stay mad at you! Stuff like this almost validates all my time spent browsing about.

By: maudlin

maudlin — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:10:49 -0800

Upvote!

By: chillmost

chillmost — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:15:23 -0800

I thought every guy has to do this before getting some. No? *Dear Ask Metafilter....*

By: maudlin

maudlin — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:15:36 -0800

GAHHH!!! Ceiling spider is watching you piss yourself in fear. (Go ahead and search "spider" at VideoSift. I dare you.)

By: blacklite

blacklite — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:17:29 -0800

Jumping spiders rear up on their hind legs? Jesus. Christ. I wish I had extra italics for most of the words of that sentence.

By: KokuRyu

KokuRyu — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:27:15 -0800

I'm not sure if I want to watch spiders copulate.

By: greasepig

greasepig — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:33:01 -0800

This might be one of the most frightening things I've ever seen in my life. I really wish I hadn't watch this. I will have nightmares for years now. Thanks.

By: greasepig

greasepig — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:33:53 -0800

watched

By: zeoslap

zeoslap — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:39:18 -0800

Is that ceiling spider real? That's truly awesomely hideously terrifying if it is (reaffirming my firm desire to never ever set foot on that god forsaken continent)

By: zeoslap

zeoslap — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:42:43 -0800

Wow, very cool, looks like he is doing some cool voodoo hypnosis type thing.

By: Iron Rat

Iron Rat — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:45:38 -0800

Jumping spiders are so cool, so many colors, so many patterns. The local ones are velvety with a blood red back, very kawaii!!

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:53:19 -0800

Marvellous drama of the drumrolls and upraised conductor's hands-legs raised straight up. Great sense of suspenseful timing and the sound quality is so great. And then when he stood up all all tiptoes. whoa. Maybe he never saw any palp action and he wasn't playing her song and that's why it ended the way it did? Or maybe it was censored? That's a fun post, thanks lazaruslong. Spider pr0n revisited. In other spider sex movies, it's the onlookers who make the show: the Animal Guys and a breathless female film tarantulas, Two young boys filming (almost totally blurred) a pair of Daddy-Long-Legs. The writing on the side is the funny part of this video of a scrawny looking male black widow and a scarily large female.

By: blacklite

blacklite — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 09:05:11 -0800

Wow that is freaky as hell. It finally loaded for me. I think the weirdest thing about the insect world, to me, is how non-biological it seems. Completely alien. BLOM BLOM BRRRRRR BLOM BLOM. It could have been from Mars. And then he marching-bands himself right up on her. DUN DUN DUN DUN. ... maybe that would be kind of fun actually.

By: maudlin

maudlin — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 09:08:32 -0800

I'm waiting for the jumping spiders' version of Paranoid Android. (Take that, UMass!)

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 09:16:24 -0800

NOT AWESOME! NOT COOL!

By: Tehanu

Tehanu — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 09:24:29 -0800

This is awesome.

By: otherwordlyglow

otherwordlyglow — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 09:29:07 -0800

AWESOME! COOL! also terribly freaky and scary.

By: Zinger

Zinger — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 09:36:16 -0800

That was fascinating. But after watching him flick his forelegs up in the air in time to the beat, I'm never going to be able to watch flamenco dancing again. Not with a straight face, anyway.

By: CrazyLemonade

CrazyLemonade — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 09:49:16 -0800

Reminded me of that Joaquin Cortés flamenco dancing guy. Lots of tapping and vibrations there too.

By: CrazyLemonade

CrazyLemonade — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 09:49:55 -0800

Aghhhh! Had the same idea as you, Zinger.

By: Aversion Therapy

Aversion Therapy — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 10:08:44 -0800

I was trying to come up with some sort of pun on Max Roach, but it felt forced, and I'm tired. Awesome, great post. And was I the only one looking for World War 1 fighter planes outside while listening to this?

By: hurdy gurdy girl

hurdy gurdy girl — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 10:16:10 -0800

That was really cool! I am usually creeped out by spiders, but there was something about the insistence and drama and musicality of that guy that was fascinating. I loved how the female spider just sat there stock-still, either in nonchalance ("Yawn. I've seen better.") or total, abject fear. If it were me, it would be fear, but then I am not a spider.

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 10:36:22 -0800

There are certain members of Metafilter bent and determined to have me bite out MY OWN MOTHER FUCKING TONGUE IN HOLY TERROR! I HEREBY IMPOSE A SPIDER BAN!!! PS. not spiderist.

By: zennie

zennie — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:03:24 -0800

He sounds like a puttering motorbike. Nifty.

By: eatdonuts

eatdonuts — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:04:24 -0800

"Show me your Paso Doble!" (grotesque Strickly Ballroom reference) Seriously though, did anyone else have the words Toro! Toro! going throught their heads? That's totally a spanish dance of lurve.

By: jquinby

jquinby — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:12:52 -0800

Question - what does one use for capturing audio like something so small? Was it microphone of some kind? It looks like the spiders are on some sort of mat, too. Maybe full of sensors? Anyone?

By: jquinby

jquinby — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:13:26 -0800

er, that should be "...from something so small"

By: davejay

davejay — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:41:16 -0800

So basically male spiders seranade their womenfolk? Or is this more of a "hey baby, what's up? MY FORELEGS!" kind of pickup line? Still, jumping spiders are awesome. Spiders in general are. Since no house is ever totally bug-free, I'm always on board with anything creepy-crawly that feeds on other creepy-crawlies instead of, say, my snack cookies.

By: katillathehun

katillathehun — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:48:47 -0800

This only proves my theory that spiders are really some kind of killing machine. That cadence? That weren't no cadence. That was AOL dialup, 'cuz Spidey ain't been upgraded, but he'll be damned if doesn't download a map of your bed. He'll wait. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to curl up in a Raid-coated corner and cry.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:08:00 -0800

With his colors and general awesomeness, this jumping spider shouldn't have to dance to seduce. I CAN HAZ FORELEGPLAYZ. Those eyes. Is he trying to pull one of those limpid pools seductions? Some cool jumping spider macros. Some cool pics and a bunch of movies of Jumping Spider courtship. If it were me, it would be fear, but then I am not a spider. I think in most cases with spiders it's the male who's totally scared and dancing so he isn't chomped or dancing to mesmerise with flamenco bravado. The male tarantula has to hold her fangs while doing the palp thing and then high tail it away after so he isn't her post coital dinner.

By: gubo

gubo — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:25:21 -0800

Sadly I suspect the female here is an ex-spider.

By: Busithoth

Busithoth — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:17:59 -0800

that is awesome. those stalks are out of control!

By: Sticherbeast

Sticherbeast — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:02:57 -0800

They should hire jumping spiders to perform the new Autechre album.

By: bwg

bwg — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:49:46 -0800

... jumping spider beats Paradiddle?

By: pemungkah

pemungkah — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:26:06 -0800

Jumpers seem surprisingly social. I think it's simply that on their scale, they're faster and stronger than anything else, and they're really quite fearless. We used to have one that patrolled the bedroom and upper hall in our old house, catching mosquitoes and gnats. About a 1/4" long, and black with a little white dot on its abdomen (after a little searching, found out it's Phidippus audax - who knew they killed brown recluses?). It mistakenly jumped onto my wife's shoulder one evening. She shrieked, and the spider LEAPT back onto the wall, scurried up about a foot above her head, and stopped, looking back. I know it has a very small brain indeed, but I can only describe its body language as quite abashed and apologetic. Saw my first jumper today since I moved to California. You can't miss that windup-toy speed they move at and the incredibly fast jumps. I've actually quite missed them.

By: Joeforking

Joeforking — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:33:03 -0800

Play that funky music spider boy.

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 20:11:03 -0800

Chicks dig drummers. "Thank you Chicago! GOOD NIGHT!!!"

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 20:17:25 -0800

Drumroll please.... or 1. Drumroll. 2. Please.

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 07:40:33 -0800

The male tarantula has to hold her fangs while doing the palp thing and then high tail it away after so he isn't her post coital dinner. That's nothing, try talking and cuddling.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 18:15:30 -0800

That's nothing, try talking and cuddling. That's funny. :) You and Harry (when Harry Met Sally).

By: lekvar

lekvar — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 23:53:37 -0800

That's a great video. Thanks for sharing that, lazaruslong. For the record; 1. Spiders are neat. 2. Jumping spiders are FREAKING AWESOMEZ OMG!!!!!!!!!ELEVENTYONE!!!!!!

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 06:28:35 -0800

Cool, glad to see spider ~~begging for nookie~~ foreplay.

By: bwg

bwg — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 04:01:35 -0800

Interesting to note that in Hong Kong, jumping spider species have more than doubled since 2000, from 35 to 77. We got lots and lots.