Newly-hatched baby spiders can be almost spherical, tiny, half-formed, without a lot of features. I’ve heard spider enthusiasts describe newly-hatched spiders as “eggs with legs“. After their first molt, though, they seem to become tiny versions of the adults, although until a spider has grown up completely it may be missing characteristics that allow you to identify it. For example, the baby Lyssomanes viridis above could be either male or female; they’re about 3mm long at this point, and have a lot of growing to do before they become fully adult.
I can’t always completely identify a baby jumping spider, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want a photo of it! Enjoy some of my favorite photos of absolutely cuter-than-hell baby spiders.
Baby jumping spider (Attidops sp.)
This unspeakably small (~2mm) jumping spider is probably a member of the genus Attidops, although I also suspect it might be an Admestina species.
Baby twinflagged jumping spider (Anasaitis canosa)
This is my best guess for the species of this tiny spiderling. S/he is sitting on the head of a Phillips-head screw, to give you some idea of scale, and is about 3mm long.
Baby Hentzia jumping spider (Hentzia sp.)
This delightful little one is almost certainly either a Hentzia mitrata or a Hentzia palmarum, but we’ll have to wait until it grows up to know. I love the partially-open eyeball — this reminds me of the “Awiens!!” meme. Certainly, the strange plastic shiny thing floating in the sky and flashing lights at him/her must look a lot like a spaceship from that angle!