Role of legs and foot adhesion in salticid spiders jumping from smooth surfaces

Many spiders and insects can perform rapid jumps from smooth plant surfaces. Here, we investigate how jumping spiders (Pseudeuophrys lanigera and Sitticus pubescens) avoid slipping when accelerating. Both species differed in the relative contribution of leg pairs to the jump. P. lanigera accelerated mainly with their long third legs, whereas their short fourth legs detached earlier. In contrast, S. pubescens accelerated mainly with their long fourth legs, and their short third legs detached earlier. Because of the different orientation (fourth-leg tip pointing backward, third-leg tip pointing forward), the fourth-leg tarsus pushed, whereas the third-leg tarsus pulled. High-speed video recordings showed that pushing and pulling was achieved by different attachment structures. In P. lanigera, third-leg feet made surface contact with setae on their distal or lateral claw tuft, whereas fourth-leg feet engaged the proximal claw tuft, and the distal tuft was raised off the ground. S. pubescens showed the same division of labour between proximal and distal claw tuft for pushing and pulling, but the claw tuft contact lasted longer and was more visible in the fourth than in the third legs. Experimental ablation of claw tufts caused accelerating spiders to slip, confirming that adhesion is essential for jumps from smooth substrates. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00359-021-01466-6.