Until a couple of years ago, I know that I wouldn't have allowed this.
But I've learned to accept that little jumping spiders are almost harmless and can even be "friendly".

From watching their behavior and photographing them over many years, I now see these little insects as curious, fairly intelligent critters. They actually will watch you watch them and have been known to sometimes exhibit playful behavior with humans.

If any other kind of spider had gotten on to me, I would have violently reacted in a girly way, screamed, and tried to get it off me as quickly as possible. But with this cute, jumping spider, I allowed him on me long enough to get a photo. After that, I gently encouraged him to move on to a nearby flower that I had plucked for him to go to.

To say the least, I'm normally not a big fan of creepy crawlies of any sort.

The very first time, I went out to photograph wild Grizzly Bears in their native habitat, I more than demonstrated that. Just as I got within 10 feet of a huge, male Griz (accidently-not on purpose), I felt something fall inside the zip up shirt I was wearing. Certain that it was a bug, I couldn't help but scream as a reflex. Then, to make the situation even worse, I unzipped my shirt and started to flap it to get rid of the bug. I had been walking with a male park ranger. Spotting the bear, he was terrified that we would be attacked because of my screaming and flailing about. He quietly pointed the bear out in hopes I would be more afraid of the bear than of a bug down my shirt. But I just kept screaming and flapping to get rid of the bug. As fate had it, I was braless. So, I didn't know which way to turn during my hysterics over a bug in my shirt: toward a man who I had just met or toward the bear that had been napping along the trail. So, I just kept turning back and forth between them while still trying to shake the unknown bug out of my shirt.

Funny story now, but not as much at the time. Luckily, that bear just watched the crazy woman and made no move toward us. For years afterwards, that ranger remembered and teased me every time that he saw me. I'm the only girl he's ever met to flash her bare boobs at a wild Grizzly bear. He didn't mind that show either. Obviously, we became friends. He has also claimed that I must have an angel on my shoulder to have been so close to a wild bear and put on such a show & not have the bear react beyond just watching. Because wild Grizzly Bear photography then became a specialty of mine for many years, I later went to as many seminars and classes as possible to learn how to stay "safe" in bear territory. However, I'm still not sure how I'd reflexively react if any huge bug of unknown species fell down my shirt. But I do know how lucky I was that day to still be here to tell the story. As I said, I'm not particularly fond of bugs and one down my shirt still totally creeps me out.

However, there just is something not threatening about a tiny jumping spider. I think they're kind of cute. Just as long as it wasn't down my shirt, I allowed this one to briefly walk across my bare skin in order to get his picture.