This is a female Phiddippus adumbratus from California, collected by a friend who finds them on crates of grapes. In the comments section, Matt suggested the rotting grapes attract flies and other insects, making finding prey easier.
And climbing out of her terrarium,
Here she is guarding her nest web, with newly hatched slings. The first clutch had approximately 50-60 individuals, and this one looks to be about the same. This spider is kept in a gallon glass jar with a screen lid, 2″ clay substrate, and lots of plants. Temps are kept 70-75F and the jar receives ambient light and indirect light from LED’s.
The nest below was built about 3-4 weeks before these slings appeared. The first nest she built was up for about two months before slings appeared. Between the first and second clutch, she was not exposed to any other male spiders so the second clutch must have been baking for a while, or else she mated with one of her offspring.
Below is a baby of about two weeks old, still about the size of a melanogaster fly but starting to develop some interesting patterns. They are kept individually in 12 oz. deli cups with potting soil and a folded magnolia leaf. Currently they have plastic lids but should have better ventilation long term. Every week each spider eats about 12 flies. They are fed 2x per week and dusted with normal frog routine supplements.
Fantastic photos, Emily! Wow, very nice. I like the shallow depth of field and soft backgrounds. What a beautiful (and cute) spider! I would hypothesize that the crates of grapes draw fruit flies or other such prey, prompting the spiders to hang out there as a prime hunting spot.
Thanks for the kind words Matt! Your rationale for why the jumping spiders are found by grapes makes so much, now I feel silly for not thinking of that!