• Widdershins@lemmy.worldEnglish
    33 minutes

    My mom, who was a huge arachnophobe, had a pet jumping spider living on her desk at work. Seeing my arachnophobic mother on good terms with one is the best PR jumping spiders could ask for.

  • lightnsfw@reddthat.comEnglish
    4 hours

    Idk about that most of the spiders I’ve seen are way bigger than the jumping spiders.

  • Dragging up again@lemmy.todayEnglish
    6 hours

    I normally really hate spiders but for some reason jumping spiders are cute enough to bypass the arachnophobia. But there is something deeply unsettling about making eye contact with and appreciating one of these little guys but realizing your face is conceivably within jumping range.

  • NM_Gringo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9 hours

    Most spiders just hang out in a web. But jumping spiders…it seems like there’s something going on in there. Like they’re figuring something out.

    • Pipster@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      9 hours

      They are absolutely fascinating. Sure, I’m certain a lot of videos ham it up a bit because of the way they look around and do certain things but generally animals with that much visual acuity have a lot of processing power to deal with the info so its not a far stretch at all to imagine there is something more to their intelligence.

      Spiders in the genus Portia show behaviour which is really fascinating, not only do they use their eyes to actively hunt but they ‘plan’ attack routes - they can see their prey, plan a route to get closer, which involves breaking line of sight for extended periods yet still remember where to go and where the prey was. They also exhibit strong learning traits and pattern recognition. Absolutely fascinating, and adorable, things. I really want to get a pet jumping spider, one of the big ones.

      • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        24 minutes

        The only other spiders I know of who do anything similar are tarantula who I will note have a proto-brain but even they seem to be a bit more instinctual. Pretty neat that the little jumpers seem to be the smarter ones, either that or tarantula are simply far more cautious.

  • rhythmisaprancer@quokk.auEnglish
    11 hours

    I really like jumping spiders. They are fun to be around and have in the house. I just wish they were more common here, but instead we have widow spiders that make me nervous when I work around them. I just try to pretend they are friendly, too…

    • remon@ani.socialEnglish
      11 hours

      They are pretty friendly and also quite considerate. Females, when they aren’t disturbed and find enough food, often spend their entire life in their web and never leaving it. So it’s not actually that big of a deal to have some in or around your house if you know where they are and leave them alone. The males do wander around sometimes, but they are actually harmless.

      • Sylvartas@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        10 hours

        They’re also the cutest spiders so they get a pass. The wolf spiders better stay hidden though (plus they hunt the other spider tenants that actually eat the bugs I don’t want in my house)

  • hzl@piefed.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    22 hours

    They’re also the smartest, and are an excellent way to work toward wearing down visceral fear toward spiders. Their personalities and forward-facing eyes make it a lot easier to understand them. You can see what they’re looking at, and their observant little movements make them come across as curious in a way that’s absolutely adorable once you get used to the legs.

    I would strongly urge anyone who is fearful of spiders to have some interactions with jumping spiders. It can go a long way toward making you feel at peace with animals that are always around us and mean us no harm.

    • El_Scapacabra@lemmy.zipEnglish
      21 hours

      I’ve been trying this since I had an encounter with one a few years back and noticed how frickin cute they actually are. They have this very interesting way of moving, like a robot, plus they have baby animal proportions making them appear cute. And if you observe them for a bit you’ll notice them observing you right back. You can almost see the gears turning in their little heads.

      I still have a pretty severe case of arachnophobia but it has gotten heaps better with just watching these cute little spider puppies from a safe distance.

    • xylol@leminal.spaceEnglish
      21 hours

      Its crazy that they dream, and their front big eyes are basically telephoto lenses that can move in their head and even rotate, so cool!

    • dogslayeggs@lemmy.worldEnglish
      24 hours

      Well, yeah, that’s natural selection. The cute ones tend to have higher career salaries on average, so they are able to attract female spiders to mate with.

      • velma@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        24 hours

        Goddamnit, even on a post about spiders we gotta bring in this incel shit?

        I’m tired, boss.

          • velma@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            23 hours

            Why does every topic necessitate a joke about women wanting men with money?

            WHY?

            We’re talking about spiders ffs

            Gold digger jokes aren’t even clever anymore, like at least have more creativity jesus christ

            • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyzEnglish
              17 minutes

              If women as a rule preferred men with good personalities over men with a lot of money, then why would Elon Musk have so many kids?

              Try being a broke man with a decent personality and then tell me where golddigger jokes come from, goddamn.

              Or just go over to reddit dating advice and count how many times a woman explains to a guy that even though his looks and personality might be okay, if he’s making minimum wage then he’s not going to be viewed as a viable long-term partner…

            • Nima@leminal.spaceEnglish
              14 hours

              what an extreme reaction to such an innocuous joke. don’t die on the hill of being “that guy”

              • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyzEnglish
                15 minutes

                That user is notoriously self-righteousness about grandstanding whenever gender is even slightly mentioned. Even when other women tell her she’s being obnoxious.

              • velma@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                7 hours

                Oh no, I’m being a killjoy for all the jokes about misogyny, rape, and pedophilia in this site?

                Yeah I’m the one in the wrong.

                I’ve got messages in my inbox justifying electing a rapist regardless of political identity and we can’t even talk about spiders without someone making jokes about how shitty women are.

                Whatever.

                • Nima@leminal.spaceEnglish
                  6 hours

                  nobody is raping anyone in this thread, damn. you’re like the PETA of women’s rights.

            • remon@ani.socialEnglish
              12 hours

              The second largest family of spiders are literally the “money spiders”.

                • remon@ani.socialEnglish
                  7 hours

                  You should consider some gold digging, maybe you can buy yourself a sense of humour.

  • gedaliyah@lemmy.worldEnglish
    19 hours

    They also have the most amazing eyes in the animal kingdom. We’re pretty sure that they have depth perception based on the different refractive indices of light.

    • kakler bitmap@lemmy.worldEnglish
      18 hours

      Which not only gives them depth perception, but depth perception using only a single eye.

  • dohpaz42@lemmy.worldEnglish
    23 hours

    All spiders are jumping spiders if you get scared enough. 😱

  • john_lemmy@slrpnk.netEnglish
    22 hours

    Neat! Just finished a book about spiders, that despite being sci-fi, made me appreciate them more. Children of time, for those that want to check it out.