Jumping spider with fly

I think this is Eris flava, but happy to be corrected. Like every jumping spider I’ve photographed it held onto its prey even while I chased it around the leaf to get the shot. I think I’ve seen a jumping spider discard its prey only once, and perhaps that instance was a spider that had pretty much finished the meal. If you know of any papers on the topic of prey retention under threat, I’d be interested.

Paraphidippus aurantius

If you’re curious, the fly probably isn’t dead yet. Just paralyzed and being digested from within with enzymes injected by the spider. I’d wager the process is exquisitely unpleasant for the fly. I’m assuming the spider moves to different parts of the fly to access different pockets of muscle and such but I couldn’t confirm that in the literature.

If you’re interested in identifying something that’s similar, there’s a useful paper on differences of E. flava and E. militaris by Madison 1986 (pdf), but illustrations of the head are only of males. Photographs and other information are at BugGuide.

Beech blight aphids attacking spider

Here’s a spider being attacked by beech blight aphids (Grylloprociphilus imbricator). The spider eventually dropped off the tree trunk onto the forest floor and crawled away, twitching slightly. This is a known defensive behavior of the aphids, but I’d never seen it before. Apparently the stylets are sharp enough to puncture human skin, too. Wish I’d managed to get better photographs, of course.

Beech blight aphid (Grylloprociphilus imbricator) attacking a spider

Clayton Park, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.