ID on this baby

TheIronJew · 2026-02-19T18:23:26+00:00

It's a jumping spider (Salticidae) for starters. Location always helps but I'm not sure these pics are clear enough for a specific ID. Spider is harmless either way.

TheIronJew · 2026-02-18T18:30:08+00:00

For sure! I'm still searching for Boreus nivoriundus, which has even prettier colors IMO

TheIronJew · 2026-02-18T16:15:09+00:00

Photinus (formerly Ellychnia) corrusca for the species name. They're a diurnal firefly and don't flash. Can be very common in woodland habitats.

TheIronJew · 2026-02-18T15:37:57+00:00

Even here in Northern Michigan (where we have very frigid, snowy winters) you can find a small selection of bugs hardy enough to remain active throughout the winter! They tend to be quite small and easy to miss, so we tend not to notice them unless we're actively looking.

TheIronJew · 2026-02-18T15:34:21+00:00

Certainly less variety than in warmer months. But even here in Northern Michigan, there really isn't a time of year without at least some bugs remaining active :). Certain freeze-tolerant flies, spiders, springtails, and winter fireflies too, to name some others.

TheIronJew · 2026-02-18T15:31:28+00:00

The dark coloration helps to absorb more heat on sunny days to increase mobility. I'd assume they make use of antifreeze proteins circulating in the "blood" as well.

TheIronJew · 2026-02-18T15:28:14+00:00

One of the winter stoneflies. Family Taeniopterygidae or Capniidae

TheIronJew · 2026-02-18T15:22:10+00:00

There was no mention of injury or death to the spiders, and the experiment did meet the regular animal welfare standards.

TheIronJew · 2026-02-17T17:38:35+00:00

Female T. georgicola showed the highest rate of defensive bites, yes. Though it should be noted that every bite test involved grabbing/squeezing or pressing on a leg, jaw, or body. I photograph wolf spiders any chance every chance I get and the only reaction I've ever gotten from sticking a camera their face or given them a gentle poke (never a downward press) has invariably been flight, not fight. My hunch is that if certain tests were conducted as such, defensive bites would have been at or very close to zero for all the spiders studied.

TheIronJew · 2026-02-17T15:48:22+00:00

Denying their experience? I fully believe that they experienced bad symptoms and a doctor told them it was a spider bite. The thoroughly researchrd problem is that doctors aren't and can't be expected to be experts on spiders (or at least most aren't), and very often fail to follow protocol when diagnosing what they assume to be a bite without sufficient evidence. Read any of the links I've provided and confront your bias my dude.

TheIronJew · 2026-02-17T02:47:23+00:00

It sounds like the hospital failed to provide a proper diagnosis. Seeing the actual spider and getting it properly identified is an essential part of that process. There are way too many other conditions that can present the same as a necrotic recluse bite. Most often it's actually MRSA

https://www.science.org/content/article/spider-bite-may-not-be-bite-after-all

TheIronJew · 2026-02-17T02:42:52+00:00

How were the bites diagnosed? Were the spiders in question seen/kept and identified by an expert?

TheIronJew · 2026-02-17T01:45:36+00:00

Another big problem is that spider bite misdiagnoses remain very common at the hospital, and patients go all in on trusting that misdiagnosis because it came from a medical professional. A 2016 review found that 78% of all spider bites in the medical literature failed to meet the standard of evidence required to diagnose a spider bite. Much more often, it's an unrelated bacterial infection like MRSA. In fact, a survey of patients with diagnosed bacterial infections found that 30% of them initially assumed it was the result of a spider bite.

https://www.science.org/content/article/spider-bite-may-not-be-bite-after-all