Tis a Jumping spider. IPM hard at work in the garden.

Sent by Greg Paige | 12:15 PM ET | 09-20-2007

My grandmother had a beautyberry plant in her west central Georgia garden; I think she planted in back in the 1940s. It took leafing through an upscale gardening catalog for me to find out its true name.

In many old Southern gardens, this plant is a tried-and-true favorite. It's fairly easy to find here. I giggle when I see catalogs selling 3" pots of it for $30!

And by the way: the berries taste horrible. I found that out at age 3.

Sent by Rachael Williams | 12:27 PM ET | 09-20-2007

looks like a Jumping Spider, or a "Salticid Spider" though I'm not sure which kind. Maybe a California Jumping Spider?
http://www.californiagardens.com/images/Salticid_Spider_c.jpg

Sent by Frances Bonier | 2:47 PM ET | 09-20-2007

It's a little jumping spider (Family Salticidae). Maybe sub-family Dendryphantinae? There's never an araneologist around when you need one...

Sent by Justin | 3:03 PM ET | 09-20-2007

Looks like you've done quite well without the araneologist...speaking of which...is that an archaic word for an arachnologist?

Anyway, thanks for the i.d.

Sent by Ketzel Levine | 5:08 PM ET | 09-20-2007

Unless there was any colors on the abdomen, it's likely either a female Phidippus mystaceus or putnami jumping spider. Regardless, it's female, and it's in the Phidippus genus.

Sent by Thomas Shahan | 5:41 PM ET | 09-20-2007

Callicarpa is marginally hardy here in my garden, but it did come back--and even has a few purple berries on it. The spider, I think is related to Shelob

Sent by jodi | 9:14 AM ET | 09-21-2007

The Beautyberry color was so inviting that we painted our bedroom in that color many years ago. Afterwards, my husband said, we need a second coat -- what color would you like it to be? All the light had been sucked out of the room by the magenta. It took 3 coats of pale yellow to cover it.
I still have a beautyberry outside. It grows great in Gulf coast shady areas.

Sent by Mel Babb | 10:18 AM ET | 09-21-2007

Spiders make up the order Araneae in the class Arachnida, thus an arachnologist may study spiders as well as other arachnids while an araneologist is the more specialized of the two

Sent by dv | 10:36 AM ET | 09-21-2007

Thanks for araneologist explainer, dv. Anyone going to second Thomas's i.d. that our handsome stranger is a female Phidippus mystaceus, or putnami jumping spider?

Sent by Ketzel Levine | 1:14 PM ET | 09-21-2007

My one complaint about the Beauty Berry, and it is a small one, is its form. It is "informal" to say the least. Howver, I was at a friend's house and she has a Korean Beauty Berry and wow - it has lovely form. It is very delicate with sort of horizontal branching. The berries are much smaller so you don't quite get the same color punch - but it really is a beautiful plant.

Sent by Kailla in Portland | 1:20 PM ET | 09-21-2007

I agree - definitely a Phidippus female. Not sure about species without seeing more of it.

Sent by Frances Bonier | 7:13 PM ET | 09-21-2007

http://bugguide.net/node/view/40334/bgimage for detailed spidy info =)

Sent by SMR | 7:43 AM ET | 09-22-2007

There are several varieties(cultivars?) of beautyberry and all are worth the price. The fancied up ones include 'Heavy Berry' whose berry load is so heavy, it stays under four feet tall. Then there's C. mexicana whose berries are giant and black-red, I think puce is the proper color name. 'Early Amethyst is just that - early to turn purple - by mid-August in South Carolina giving me hope that summer won't last forever. And what about 'Profusion' - over-loaded with giant berries even as a young plant. The list could go on.

Sent by Sharon Thompson | 9:20 PM ET | 09-22-2007

My experience is limited, so I'm not familiar the Phidippus Mystaceus; could it be a juvenile P. audax? Apparently the photo was taken in the US. Look forward to hearing from a qualified arachnologist Or an araneologist!

Sent by Bill | 10:59 PM ET | 09-22-2007

Here in central Florida, we call this plant "american beautyberry" and revere it as a "native" plant. My mature magnolia tree has many amer.beautyberry plants under it...because, I suppose, the bird droppings are loaded with the seeds.

Sent by mary pipkin,lakeland,florida | 1:46 AM ET | 09-23-2007

Beauty berry is a favorite of full-time and migrating birds...also nice in wreaths. Cute jumping spider! Maybe Phidippus regius, female, gray form. Maybe.

Sent by Barb | 9:02 AM ET | 09-23-2007

The beautyberries have been in full bloom at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD, for a couple of weeks now. The color of the berries is truly stunning. I was most surprised, though, at the size of the berries, as they are very tiny.

Sent by andy carvin | 9:53 AM ET | 09-24-2007

Judging from various Web sites and the comments above, it definitely is Phidippus of some sort. In any event, a day or two after Ketzel posted her photo, I saw one -- same coloration exactly -- sitting on my outdoor spigot attached to the house and realized that I had seen it or another in the same area. And now I know that the various other jumping spiders I see about are Salticidae. How nice to have these sources of information to satisfy curiosity.

Sent by Dan Hortsch, Portland, Oregon | 12:54 PM ET | 09-24-2007

A p.s.: The beauty berry I put in a year ago is wonderful. It is a Profusion and the colors == as seen in Ketzel's phot0 -- are wonderful.

Sent by Dan Hortsch, Portland, Oregon | 12:57 PM ET | 09-24-2007

Thank you so much for this post. I have been admiring Callicarpa americana in my workplace landscaping for a year and nobody could ever tell me what it's called. Finally, I know what to ask for when I have my other boss (at my seasonal garden center job) order some for me! (Yay!)

Sent by Amy | 2:57 PM ET | 10-04-2007

I think I can agree with Phidippus spp., but I thought (from the B.J. Kaston book) it's the male (not female) of the genus that have the vertical 'eyebrow tufts.' From this photo it's hard to tell if the chelicerae are iridescent, which would further suggest male. Thomas, can you say why you're sure it's female?

Sent by Bill Barber, Santa Fe, NM | 10:04 PM ET | 10-08-2007

hahah - 'araenologist'. nice word, although there is no such thing. arachnologist is definately the word used to distinguish somebody who studies spiders. somebody with a broader specialized knowledge of the insect world would be an entomologist. and yes, definately phidippus spp. definately female.

Sent by duh | 5:54 PM ET | 10-22-2007

I didn't discover beautyberry until I moved to a natural area near a state park about 5 years ago. Now it's my biz name (Beautyberry Books). I have them growing all over our 2 acres, and the berries are always eaten. Yeah for wildlife! The spider might find himself prey if he sticks around very long.

Sent by Diane S. Alvarez | 8:39 AM ET | 01-20-2008