Having excellent eyesight, particularly in ultraviolet wavelengths, jumping spiders come equipped with glowing patches on their bodies to attract mates.
Scientists led by Matthew Lim of the University of Singapore videotaped pairs of male and female jumping spiders under full-spectrum light—which includes UV light—and under UV-blocked light.
Under ultraviolet light, the male and female were seen to hit the "dance floor" with their bodies aglow: Turns out, females have their own “glow stick”—their front appendages, called palps, glowed in a bright green hue under UV light.
As courtship progressed, the male arched its body, vibrated its palps and slinked on tiptoe toward the female. The female spider hunched, seeming to play hard to get, and then scampered away.
Researchers also observed the spiders when one sex was in full-spectrum light and the other in UV-deficient light. When a partner was not lit up by UV, the females showed no interest, suggesting that a male must show its good before courtship can proceed. Males ignored or showed much less interest in females under UV-blocked light.
Here is the
video in which you can view a male and female "raving". (Note: TV spot will play before the actual footage.)