Familiar Jumpers!

I found this spider on our basement stairs last week.

She is a jumping spider (Salticidae), and a pretty large one. Here is a picture with my thumb to give you a sense of her size. My thumbnail is about a half of an inch (1.3 cm) long.

Jumping spiders don't build webs to trap prey like other spiders. They actively hunt prey and are capable of moving very quickly when necessary. Even though they don't spin webs, they still possess silk glands and they will trail a tiny thread of silk behind them as they hunt. This thread serves as a safety line should they lose their footing when pouncing on their prey.
Two of their eyes are very large and are oriented forward, which gives them better vision for hunting.

The two appendages under her eyes that look like a mustache are called palps. In females, they are mainly used for sensing the environment and manipulating food. Male spiders also use their palps for mating and courtship, so their palps are often larger and more noticeable. One of the clues that this spider is a female was that her palps are not enlarged at the tip. Also, the males of this species have an orange band of hairs underneath their eyes. Jumping spiders are one of the few spider families that possess color vision and the males will often have colorful markings on their faces that serve a purpose in courtship. This species is known as the Familiar Jumper (Platycryptus undatus).
Here is a link to a really great video of some other Familiar Jumpers.

Fruit fly trap

This is the best fruit fly trap that I've ever seen, and its easy to make at home.

The insects that most people call fruit flies are actually called vinegar flies, pomace flies, or just drosophila. Drosophila is the name of the scientific Genus that they are classified under. The most common fruit fly that we encounter in our homes is Drosophila melanogaster. However, another fruit fly has been showing up in North America, which is know as the Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii). Spotted wing drosophila is a problem for fruit growers since it has the ability to attack fruit while its still on the plant! Most other drosophilas at least have the decency to wait until the fruit is in our kitchens.

The trap the I'm going to show you today is easy and inexpensive to make using these common household ingredients.

Sugar
Yeast (normal bread yeast)
Plastic wrap
Toothpicks
Dish soap
Water
Rubber bands

All you have to do is fill a small jar or similar container with a little bit of water. Then add some yeast.

And some sugar.

Stir it up.

Then, add just one drop of dish soap. This is important. If you put too much soap in it might repel the flies. You just need enough soap to break the surface tension of the water. One drop of soap should do it. After you put the soap in you can cover the jar with plastic wrap and poke holes in it with a toothpick. You might need a rubber band to hold the plastic wrap tight over the top.

Make sure the holes are big enough that the flies will be able to get in easily. Its better to make them a little too big than not big enough.
Then all you have to do is wait for the flies to start showing up!

They should find their way inside and drown in the water. You may want to refresh the bait every few days or so. Good luck!