Ballus chalybeius

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My preferred ones

Ballus chalybeius (Walckenaer, 1802)

Scientific name: Ballus chalybeius (Walckenaer, 1802)
Common name:
French name:
Order: Araneae
Family: Salticidae
Size: 2.7 to 3.7 mm.
Biotope: On bushes and low growing vegetation, on deciduous forests edges, sometimes down in the litter.
Web: No web. Spiders of the Salticidae family chase by looking at preys with their big size eyes. They move by jumping.
Observation period: April to October (to be confirmed as observed in December).
Geographic area: Europe, east to Central Asia, North Africa.

Male Ballus chalybeius are black in colour with sparse and very short white hairs.
Females and juveniles show a reddish brown abdomen with some blackish markings. The cephalothorax is more greyish in colour.
The fore legs show some reddish colour, the hind legs are paler or even translucent. They bear black longitudinal or oblique streaks ending as thin ring at the apex of segments. Males' fore legs are thicker.
The most typical marking for this species is the longitudinal black streak running on the femur and tibia of legs IV.
Ballus rufipes shows a black streak running on the entire length of legs IV. This streak is limited to femur and tibia on Ballus chalybeius.

Ballus chalybeius - Yvelines, France - December 19th 2015

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Ballus chalybeius

I found this jumping spider in the litter and I moved it to a more suitable place for a shooting pictures.
You clearly see that the longitudinal black streak is limited to femur and tibia on this picture.

Ballus chalybeius - Yvelines, France - December 19th 2015

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Ballus chalybeius

I think that that the thick fore legs indicate a male. The brown colour of the abdomen indicates a juvenile.

Ballus chalybeius - Yvelines, France - December 19th 2015

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Ballus chalybeius

This Ballus chalybeius was kind to pose so that I can take a very sharp front picture.

Ballus chalybeius - Yvelines, France - June 21st 2021

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Ballus chalybeius

After the male I think here is the female.

Ballus chalybeius - Yvelines, France - June 21st 2021

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Ballus chalybeius

Side view. The dark markings on the legs are characteristic.

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André Bon February 2025

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