Jumping Spiders Hunt Kill, and Digest Honey Bees right in their own apiary at the Hive Entrance.

Viewers are cautioned that this video contains sequences where jumping spiders are killing and feeding on honey bees.
It's true, almost every hive in my apiary has its own resident jumping spider, in this case the Bold Jumper (Phidippus audax).
If you kill one spider, another one would just take its place.
Not dangerous at all to humans, jumping spiders can become specialized in the honey bee apiary and ingest only bees.
Jumping spiders stalk their pray and pounce at lightning speed and they remove their prey to a private location for ingestion.

You can learn more about jumping spiders here:

[Studentoflife]

Bravo! Another great video. This is why I love this channel. It’s a feast for the senses. I learn something new each episode. It is more than palatable, truly delightful. The way that large amounts of information is disseminated so that we can appreciate it so readily… a gift. This channel has been essential in my adventure into beekeeping. It is a treasure for the community. There is something for everyone… like National Geographic meets 60 mins, meets… farmer Fred! Ha! And now another of my favorites!! Horror! The fade away with the spider imposed on the entrance!!! Nailed it! You’ve done it again Fred!

[philweaver]

Thank you, for confirming this! Seems like all of my hives have at least 1 of these faster than my hive tool critters under my top covers this year! No apologies needed for the video quality!, it was fantastic!

[pumpkineater_]

Now if we could get those spiders interested in mites

[CooperBees]

Last year I usually found a jumping spider happily living and making its nest under my hive telescoping lids. Of course I sent them on their way and removed their nest, but there they were next time. Haven’t seen as many this year even though this has been the “year of the bugs” here in South central Texas. Thanks for another great film!

[recycledwisdom]

Fred, thank you for not only teaching us about bees and bee keeping, but for also teaching us aspects of bee keeping we may not have thought about. I thank God for blessing you to be a blessing to so many of us. Shalom

[disturbedoldmaster]

I like how you talked about spiders when i was just looking into spider collecting i remember seeing a gold jumping spider jump on me not yellow like actual metallic gold color.

[realeyesrealizerealies]

I love your channel Frederick! It's not just only about beekeeping but some National Geographic content related. Keep it up! Thanks for the great video and macro content!

[tommychew]

Interesting video, I never considered that they would take bees but, it makes since. 5 or 6 years ago I noticed a half the size of your pinky nail black jumping spider on the dashboard of my truck and decided to leave it alone. Over the next few months, I saw it was growing bigger and bigger every time I saw it, it had its own little ecosystem in there. I always crack my windows, so the heat won't build up as much, so I guess insects for it to eat were getting in. It grew to be an inch across I would think, on leg span for sure. One early fall day I was driving to work, and it decided to use its spinnerets to drop down from my headliner and land right between my eyes on my nose! I'm not afraid of spiders but, if a cop would have been behind me, I would have gotten pulled over! I found it the next day and released it into the wild.

[kennith.]

Thank you Fred. I have seen other YT vids on some of these getting tamed and how fast they can actually move or how big the prey they are willing to take on.

[Goch]

The way bees with pollen land at the entrance is always like a fresh site seeing

[iowalayensbeekeeping]

I had a jumping spider in a colony last year and another this week at another apiary. Thanks for the topic.

[realfnneato]

amazing hunting video of the bold jumpers on your apiary!

[kamelionify]

Thanks Fred, I love jumping spiders. They are mathematical genii when it comes to calculating their jumps. There's a great clip from a David Attenborough documentary about these fascinating creatures.

[halleyevans]

Wonderful footage Frederick thank you for sharing many interesting subjects.

[Gfthce]

Thanks Fred ! Another cup of coffee enjoying nature .

[Peter_Gunn]

Awesome video. Its amazing that you caught this on camera.

[GrandpaBees]

Thanks Fred for not telling other beekeepers to kill the spider. I've not seen any jumping spider hunting around my hives. However, out in the wild I come across the crabspider either waiting for dinner or is already dining. And yes, sometime it's a honey bee. It bee a sad world if we kill off everything that likes to snack on bees.

[hatedcritic]

The first video I ever made with bees was of the local jumping spider grabbing a meal on the robbing screen. Amazing stuff.

[Melanie]

I saw a jumping spider hauling away a bee on the rocks below my hive. I assumed he just found one that had died and hauling it away. Then I sit down to YouTube and this video pops up. So interesting! Thanks. Also, you have an awesome camera for filmin insects!

[dawesome_sauce]

Sorry about your bees. I must confess I do love jumping spiders. They're some of my favorites of the smaller critters.