Ants Can't Jump

Morphological ant mimicry by Myrmarachne [ant mimic]  jumping spiders confers strong protective benefits against predators [considered to be a good example of Batesian mimicry].

BUT: 

The ant-like appearance of Myrmarachne spiders, such as narrow and constricted body with an elongated pedicel, seems unsuitable for generating the high hemolymph pressure required for jumping. 

 

Constraints on the jumping and prey-capture abilities of ant-mimicking spiders (Salticidae, Salticinae, Myrmarachne). Sci Rep 10, 18279 (2020)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-75010-y

 

25:20 / 1:10:30 UK Spider Identification in the Field

Excellent online talk by Rich Burkmar.

Tenuiphantes Top Tips

I've spent the day working though an enormous pile of Tenuiphantes tenuis. They're not only the most common spider in VC55, they're also a right pain to separate. Which is were two top tips come in.

Top Tip No. 1: Tenuiphantes or Bathyphantes?
Easy - Tenuiphantes have a proximal dorsal spine on metatarsus I, Bathyphantes don't.

Top Tip No. 2: Which Tenuiphantes species?
These are both Tenuiphantes tenuis:

With males, the palps are confusingly similar too - until you know to check the paracymbium:

No more confusion. Thanks to Tylan Berry. 

 

Florodelphax leptosoma - a new planthopper for VC55

I recently picked up a useful field tip. If you're like me, there are certain species which you know well but can never remember the names of. The trick is to give them a name you can remember, then look them up when you get home. Among the hoppers (Auchenorrhyncha), the Planthoppers (family Delphacidae) are easy to assign to a family (large, apical movable spur on the hind tibiae), but mostly tricky to identify to species level. One exception is Conomelus anceps, which I find at almost every site I visit - but can never remember the name of:

I have been able to resolve this difficult by christening them "Minions". Problem solved. 

On a recent trip to New Lount, a few small dark Minions stood out from the crowd in the tray. On examination, these turned out to be Florodelphax leptosoma:

This is a fairly common species found in a wide range of wetland habitats across the UK, but the fact that it has never been recorded previously in VC55 points to how seriously under-recorded the Auchenorrhyncha are as a group.