How High Can Spiders Jump?
WouterJumping spiders have amazing eyesight. These little spiders use their eyes for hunting, catching prey, and even courtship. This allows them to see better than most animals.
During mating, these creatures flash a variety of colors. They also have a remarkable ability to recognize patterns. That’s why jumping spiders are considered to be the smartest spiders.
Some species of jumping spiders jump five times their body length. Others can leap more than 20 times. A Peacock Spider can jump 40 times its body length. The Zebra Spider, which originates from Britain and the Holarctic region, is a small species that can jump close to 14 times its length.
Unlike other spiders, jumping spiders do not have special leg muscles that allow them to jump. Instead, their legs move forward without hydraulics.
Although they do not have bones, jumping spiders do have a tough exoskeleton. In addition to that, they have large muscle groups that allow them to move their legs. When jumping, they use a silk-like thread as a dragline.
Jumping spiders have eight pairs of eyes. Each pair contains a larger outer lens and a smaller inner lens. The smaller inner lens magnifies the image from the larger outer lens. Unlike the other types of spiders, jumping spiders can see the entire color spectrum.
They can also see depth in an unusual way. By defocusing the picture, jumping spiders can focus on different segments of the world.
A scientist from the University of Manchester recently studied jumping spiders. He used high-speed cameras to record the movements of these animals. He found that they can jump at 2.1 to 2.6 feet per second.
