Looks like you've got yourself a Phidippus Regius, AKA Regal Jumping Spider. At first I thought it was a "Red Johnson Jumper/Phidippus Johnsoni" but the pattern did not match--those spiders are typically black on the back of their head, and your beautiful spider has red on her head! It appears that you have a female of the "orange" color variety. They're gorgeous, aren't they? The brighter colors are also very common in Florida.
Jumping spiders are tricky to find. They're my favorite spider and sometimes I can't find -any- on a perfect day when I know they are out! They're fast, small, and blend in really well.
I don't know how much you know about jumpers but they are NOT dangerous to people. In fact, most will "play" with you--put out your hand and see if your spider crawls on it! They're jumpers, so they will probably get excited and jump off your hand. They spin a drag thread before they jump in case they miss, and that way can pull themselves back up without injury. They're fun to play "hand over hand" with
Typically they don't bite, unless handled roughly, squeezed, half smushed or if they feel trapped/in danger. The bite would hurt pretty good and swell a little but no worse than a bee sting, and you'd be fine.
Spiders can have incredible colors without being dangerous to people. As they're so small they're really only adapted to be dangerous to bugs.
We're nearly always fine after a spider tussle.
Congrats on a gorgeous find.
Originally Posted by shelliebear
Looks like you've got yourself a Phidippus Regius, AKA Regal Jumping Spider. At first I thought it was a "Red Johnson Jumper/Phidippus Johnsoni" but the pattern did not match--those spiders are typically black on the back of their head, and your beautiful spider has red on her head! It appears that you have a female of the "orange" color variety. They're gorgeous, aren't they? The brighter colors are also very common in Florida.
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