This spider won't make you jump

A new species to the park and an Essex Red Listed species (threatened in Essex) has just been found by a volunteer surveyor. This little fellow is Marpissa muscosa, aka fence post jumping spider. Don't worry though they are tiny and actually quite cute; don't you think?

Dorset is a traditional stronghold for this species as they have taken to living in dry stone walls.

They see in colour and have binocular vision, which is pretty rare for a spider. They are also show signs of intelligence and have learned to follow rules using food as an incentive. They have been shown to have different personality types; these develop in the young spiders according to different environmental conditions. 

So don't jump in fright if you come across this remarkable spider. At around 1 cm in size, you would look rather silly if you do!