Are you up for a little foray into nature? This summer I’m enjoying sitting on the patio most mornings, usually in the company of our new puppy, Paddy.

Needing to go out our little back gate, I saw a creature I don’t remember seeing before. A spider of some sort, you could see the strand of web he (she?) had used to get to the gate. I took the dog’s toy bunny and attempted to swat it to the ground. I say attempted because that spider was FAST. I’d swipe, and it would be several inches away on a different side of the post. Finally, I knocked it into the grass and escaped through the gate.

Interestingly, on the same day, someone else posted a picture of one on NextDoor. “What is it?!” Many were quick with the news: it’s a bold jumping spider. The leaf picture comes from the linked Wikipedia article and contains more than I wanted to know:

Bold jumping spiders are solitary carnivores that use their highly specialized eyesight to actively hunt and stalk prey. They prey on a variety of insects and non-insect terrestrial arthropods such as caterpillars, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and other spiders… Unlike most spiders, bold jumpers do not build webs to catch prey.

The highly specialized eyesight description comes later and starts:

Similar to other spiders, bold jumpers have four pairs of eyes arranged in a semi-circle around their head, giving them nearly 360° of visual coverage.

I’m impressed, first at their design, and second that scientists have studied them and know exactly what each pair of eyes does (read the whole article if you’re interested).

Spiders aren’t named in the Bible, but other predators are, and God takes credit. For example, God says to Job:

Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south? Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? On the rock he dwells and makes his home, on the rocky crag and stronghold. From there he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it from far away. (Job 39.26 – 29, ESV)

King David said it about himself, but I think that spider is…

…fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139.14, ESV)