markscherz:

Portia schultzi Karsch, 1878

This little spider is one of the most intelligent arthropods on the planet. Their behaviour is bizarrely familiar, and they show signs of reasoning, planning, and focus. I encourage you to read the wikipedia article about them.

I found this individual on the wall of a hotel in eastern central Madagascar, just outside the Anjaha Community Reserve. I have a deep love of salticids, and although I couldn’t identify it initially, I immediately knew it was something special. The result was the most satisfying photoshoot I can remember. Such an enchanting animal.

Photos © Mark D. Scherz, 2014

1. If a P. schultzi female is mature, a male P. schultzi will try to copulate with her, or cohabit with a subadult female and copulate while she is moulting. They usually mate on a web or on a dragline made by the female, and P. schultzi typically copulates for about 100 seconds, while others in the genus can take several minutes or even several hours. Females try to kill and eat their mates during or after copulation, and subadult females mimic adult females to attract males as prey. Contests between Portia females are violent, and embraces in P. schultzi typically take 20 to 60 seconds. Sometimes, one female knocks the other on her back and the other may be killed and eaten if she does not right herself quickly and run way.

Spiders! They’re just like us!