July 8, 2011 | Victorio Siqueroli Park
Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil
These two photos of critters both 4mm long were taken less than an hour apart in spots just a few feet apart. I believe these two are probably a mimic and its model.
I first photographed the jumping spider. I only got a few shots before I lost it. Later I spotted the ant and took quite a few photos. Here I selected one that would show roughly the same pose as the spider.
The area around the rearmost eyes of the jumping spider is darkened to better match the larger black eyes of the ant. The dark spots on the spider’s abdomen are an anomaly though. Maybe this ant isn’t the model after all?
I’ve actually seen many tiny jumping spiders like this one in parks around my house. I got somewhat obsessed late last year after finding the first one. Once I started looking, they were really quite easy to find on the undersides of sycamore leaves. That’s the subject of another post though.
Wow, I don’t think there’s any question that it is mimicing some ant – if not this one then something close.