jumping spiders

I recently have become familiar with another type of Florida bug, the jumping spider, plexippus variety.

These little spiders are less than 15mm long (very small), don't make webs and literally start hopping around if you get near one. They're considered "helper" spiders because they actually help get rid of pests. More info here on that (about half way down the page).

It is the weirdest thing to see a little spider start hopping instead of crawling. Hop, hop, hop, hop, hop. They jump around like rabbits. Sometimes they get in my place but it's no big deal. Even before I knew they were harmless, I wasn't threatened by them because they just don't look or act threatening at all.

Jumping spiders are like the Chihuahuas of the spider world. Small, cute, fast and a bit on the hyper side.