While I was photographing this Jumping Spider(which was less than a 1/4 inch in length), I didn't realize it was in hunting mode. Suddenly, while facing away from me and towards a swarm of very small flies zipping around a cucumber plant, it gave a tremendous leap and came down with a fly. I don't know whether the fly was caught in midair or plucked off a leaf but I, and I'm sure the fly, were really caught off guard.



From wikipedia regarding a spider's 4 pair of eyes: "....Jumping spiders' visual acuity exceeds by a factor of ten that of dragonflies, which have by far the best vision among insects; in fact the human eye is only about five times sharper than a jumping spider's. "


IMG_0412-1W.jpg