all you have to do is ask. an mdc mama has a best friend who is an arachnologist in the bay area and emailed the picture! here is the cool response:
Dear concerned mom:
No need to worry about this spider harming you or your little ones. No danger here.
This is a beautiful type of JUMPING SPIDER called Phidippus. They’re called Jumping Spiders because they leap to pounce on their prey, sometimes up to 30 times their own length, which would be like you jumping about half of a football field! These spiders actively hunt their prey, so they don’t spin webs. They use their silk to make little tent-like shelters under rocks or leaves. “Jumpers” have great eyesight, and unlike most spiders they can actually see focused images, rather than just dark and light, movement and vague forms. They will actually turn their body to look right at a human with their front two, very large eyes, so it really seems they are looking at you, interested. Because of this, they seem to have a friendly personality. Very cute. Whenever I encounter them, I can’t help but to talk to them - they just seem like they’re interacting with me. They are some of my favorite spiders!
There’s no need to fear Jumpers, or any other spiders, really. They are not out to get us. They have MUCH more reason to fear US than we have to fear THEM!! Jumping spiders, like all spiders, eat insects (and sometimes other spiders), and they have no interest in eating people. We are the wrong kind of meat for them, and our blood is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than insect blood, so a spider has nothing to gain from biting a human. The only reason a spider would chose to bite a human is in a life or death situation, for example, if it is being crushed between clothing and skin or something like that.
Like all spiders, Jumping Spiders have venom, but they pose absolutely no danger to humans because the venom is intended for their tiny insect prey, not for giant, red blooded monsters like us. I have found some documentation of a few bites by Jumpers (not necessarily this type), but bites are extremely, (and I mean really extremely) rare. The bites usually cause very little reaction – possibly slight pain (like a pin prick), and maybe a small itchy bump for a short time. No worse than a mosquito bite, and SO much less common!!
Now that you know that you don’t need to worry about them, perhaps you can look with a new perspective and see how beautiful and fascinating these cute little spiders are!
Feel free to contact me if you have more questions.
~~Linda, The Spider Chick THESPIDERCHICK@gmail.com