Jumping Spiders – Salticidae

Jumping Spiders   Family: Salticidae Common Name: Jumping spiders Appearance: Jumping spiders are 4-18 mm long spiders often confused with black widow due to their black colored bodies and short legs. They are usually black but also have brown, grey, or tan color with white, grey, red, or yellow markings. Their bodies are covered with dense, brightly colored hairs or scales. They have four pairs of legs, with the front legs being longer than the others. They are known to have the best vision among spiders. They have 8 eyes divided into three rows. They can detect movement up to 45 cm away. They are mostly active during the day and have poor night vision. Host Plants or Food: Jumping spiders are carnivores. They eat bollworms, webworms, cotton leafworms, leaf hoppers, mosquitoes, and sometimes other spiders. Some species are also known to feed on nectar. Territory: Found throughout the World except Antarctica. Mode of Damage: Beneficial garden insects. Habits and Life History: Jumping spiders are found in gardens, forests, grasslands, and even in deserts. They live on trees, under barks, cracks, and in old buildings. The male attracts female with certain movements, and when a female shows interest, mating occurs. The male has specialized appendages like structure called pedipalps which it uses to transfer sperms in the epigynum (pocket like structure) of females. Female jumping spider either finds some protected place to lay eggs or builds by itself by rolling a leaf with silk. Like other spiders, jumping spiders undergo incomplete metamorphosis. Eggs hatch into immature spiderlings, and spiderlings mature into adults without undergoing the pupal stage. Female lay eggs in the fall, so they overwinter as either eggs or immature spiderlings.