Jumping spiders sure are cute to the majority of us spider fans! If you don’t find these little spiders adorable – then you, my friend – don’t know what adorable is.
Just kidding! But really, they are super cute!
The way they shift their heads to look at you just makes them even harder to resist.
But are jumping spiders friendly or do they just appear that way due to their movements? Let’s take a deep dive into this subject and get the answers.
Are Jumping Spiders Friendly?
Jumping spiders are friendly. But, friendly is a pretty loose term and there are better ways to describe what is really going on and why people believe that jumping spiders are friendly.
Jumping spiders are curious and inquisitive spiders. However, they are still wild and act on instinct alone. They don’t have the capacity to understand being friendly and what that means to humans.
While they are shy little creatures and prefer to avoid direct contact, they are typically not aggressive toward humans and will open up more once they perceive you aren’t going to kill or harm them.
This gives them more of a “friendly” appearance than most other spider species. This is one of the reasons that people like to keep jumping spiders as pets.
Why Are Jumping Spiders So Friendly?
Jumping spiders are friendly because they appear to be social and not afraid of humans. They have curious tendencies that give people the impression they are so friendly.
In reality, they are just trying to see what’s going on around them and most won’t retreat somewhere away from humans once they realize you aren’t trying to kill them.
Jumping spiders, just like all other spiders, have no concept of friendship nor the brain capacity to process emotions in a way that humans do. They aren’t friendly or unfriendly, technically speaking.
However, one important thing to know about jumping spiders is that they do not like to be handled or touched. They are not aggressive or dangerous to humans, but jumping spiders bite if they feel threatened.
Trying to pick jumping spiders up and handle them could cause them to get defensive and bite if they feel they are being threatened. Instead of handling a jumping spider, you need to kind of gently nudge them along if you want to get them to move.
But jumping spiders are “friendly” in their own way, having instincts and movements that are more desirable to gaze upon than many other spider species.
Jumping spiders that have been domesticated tend to appear more friendly than most other spider species, which is another reason they are popular as pet spiders.
Are Jumping Spiders Nice?
Jumping spiders are perceived to be nice based on their mannerisms, but they are really just curious spiders. They do tilt their head when looking to help them see better and to see more because they don’t have necks to turn.
This movement gives some people the impression that they are social and understand what’s going on in the room.
In reality, they are just trying to get a better view and are probably debating on whether you are going to eat them so they can run.
No matter why they do it, it is still one of the most adorable sights in the world (yes, I’m biased)!
Are Jumping Spiders Friendlier Than Other Spiders?
Jumping spiders are friendlier than other spiders because of their movements and their bold or brave demeanor.
They “tolerate” humans more than other spider species, so we consider them to be friendlier than other spiders.
Other spider species that are tolerant toward humans include tarantulas, huntsman spiders, crab spiders, and many others.
However, all spiders – no matter the species – are individual spiders and will have their own demeanor and way of reacting and interacting with humans.
Some may be more tolerant of human interaction if they aren’t scared while others will want no part of human interaction at all and prefer to avoid us at all costs.
Do Jumping Spiders Smile?
Because of certain markings – some spiders appear to smile – but they aren’t really smiling.
It just appears as though they are smiling because of the markings they bear, which resemble what we perceive to be a smile and nothing more than just their physical features on display.
So no, spiders aren’t really smiling at us.
We just like to think they are, which gives them more of an inviting appearance and makes us a little more comfortable being around them. Well, at least being around certain ones like jumping spiders with all their cuteness.
Some, I’d prefer not to see run across my floor at night! Especially ones like the wolf spider, which I’ve had a bad experience with.
I’m still not over experiencing one unexpectedly jumping about a foot in the air in my living room one night in the past. But that is a story for another day.
A popular smiling spider is the Hawaiian happy-face spider that has the shape of small eyes and a large smile on the back of its abdomen – giving it an appearance of what resembles a happy face (hence the name) to humans.
But no spiders really smile and none are friendly in the way humans feel and interpret things such as friendliness and connection.
Some spiders just have habits, markings, and movements that make them look more inviting and friendly to us.
Recap
Just to recap, jumping spiders are friendly because of their movements and their curiosity. By friendly, I mean they give the appearance that they are friendly due to their cute appearance and how they handle their movements.
But it is just because we perceive them to be that way. In reality, spiders have no concept or thought capacity to express true emotions and feelings in the way that we do as humans.
And even though they appear to be friendly, jumping spiders will still bite you if they feel threatened, especially if you try to pick them up or touch them.
Even in domestication, jumping spiders do not like to be touched or picked up and you are just asking to get bit, no matter how “friendly” they appear to be.
I’d bite you too if you tried to pick me up! 🙂
Jumping spiders appear friendlier than most other spider species because they don’t run and scamper away if they don’t perceive you as a threat.
And lastly…no spiders really smile, they just have the appearance of a smile in the form of markings that form a smile or smiley face.
Thank you for checking out my article about friendly jumping spiders. If you enjoyed this article, please check out more spider articles here.
