Judalana lutea Rix, 1999 Judy and Alan's Yellow Ant-mimicking Jumping Spider

This species, described by Michael Rix in 1999, is a small, slender ant-mimicking salticid in Southeast Queensland with a bright, yellow-orange abdomen, closely related to the other four genera of Australian plurident ant mimics: Ligonipes, Rhombonotus, Damoetas and Myrmarachne. It is found mainly on Acacia bushes and occasionally on eucalypts, where leaves have been folded lengthways or at the tip to create a retreat, with the spider usually concealed inside under a sheet of white silk. Judalana features that separate this genus from the other Myrmarachninae genera are enlarged spermathecae in the female and frontal horns on the male chelicerae. These spiders appear to mimic the ant Opisthopsis rufithorax. The egg sac is made of flocculent white silk and contains about 11-14 striking orange eggs. Males can be found roaming but have also been found with a female in the folded leaves, but not with a brooding female. Body length of the male 3.2mm, carapace black or dark orange, eyes bordered in black. Upper surface of the abdomen orange towards the front and black at the rear; colours centrally divided. Abdomen oval, elongated, covered in downy hairs. Leg I orange with black tibia armed with brush of flattened black hairs. The generic name is in honour of Judy and Alan Rix, the author's parents. The species name luteus means orange or off-yellow.