This beauty, nicknamed Hyllus giganteus, is the largest jumping spider, reaching a length of almost 2.5 centimeters. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
Have you ever seen a little fluffy spider running across the floor? There's a good chance you've spotted a jumping spider.
According to the Catalog of Spiders of the World, jumping spiders are the largest family of spiders, with more than 6,380 species identified by science. The scientific name of the family of jumping spiders is Salticidae. With so many species, it is not surprising that jumping spiders vary greatly in appearance, habitat, and preferred prey. The largest of these, Hyllus giganteus, can reach 2.5 centimeters in length, while smaller species such as the colorful Habronattus pyrrithrix range from 5 to 8 millimeters in length. ()
But what jumping spiders have in common is their impressive vision. These arachnids always have four pairs of eyes, including a large forward-facing pair, which makes the spiders look quite cute and doll-like. These large eyes make jumping spiders stand out among spiders.
To catch their prey, they have to chase and jump. To do all this, they need truly exceptional vision. And their vision, depending on how you measure it, is the best for something as small as them.
Description and features
Some people think of spiders as insects, but they are not. They belong to the class of arachnids or, in other words, arachnids. Such creatures are multifaceted, large in number and ubiquitous.
Sometimes they inspire subconscious horror. And this is despite the fact that most spiders pose absolutely no danger to humans. But such fears are not difficult to understand. It’s just that these creations of nature are too different from us humans.
These fantastic creatures have as many as eight legs. And their body is built from two main parts, fastened together by a thin “waist”. The posterior region is called the abdomen, and the anterior one is both the head and the chest at the same time.
On the front part there are chelicerae - a pair of clawed processes similar to claws, but these are more likely the jaws of eight-legged animals, which can be poisonous. In some of the spiders they are located in parallel.
In others, classified as araneomorphic infraorder, they are directed diagonally towards each other, like two sabers, ready to cross at any moment. And this allows the owners to attack prey that is large in comparison with their size, because these creatures are overwhelmingly predators.
Araneomorphic representatives of the class are given a short life by nature. In addition, they do not have impressive proportions, like, for example, tarantulas or tarantulas. And it is precisely these arachnids that include the jumping spider, , the hero of our story.
It fully corresponds to the description given above, which is common to all spiders; it just needs to be supplemented a little. The cephalothorax of horses, as expected in organisms of this type, is a single whole.
But the head and chest are delimited only by a shallow groove running across. In front, this elongated area is significantly raised, its sides are steep, due to which the back part appears flat.
Horses are endowed with very amazing, keen and vigilant systems of visual perception. They are the owners of eight eyes. And not only are these organs located in different places in three rows around the circumference of the head, but each of them has its own purpose.
The first facial row consists of four round movable formations, the central ones of which are impressively large, and the outermost ones are somewhat smaller, but also very noticeable. These eyes give owners an idea of the colors and shapes of surrounding objects.
In terms of complexity, these optical devices are almost comparable to human ones, although the information they provide is still not as multifaceted as ours. The other two small eyes are located on the sides in the middle of the head, and in its back there is one more, last pair of larger eyes. All this helps spiders look at the world in all directions.
It should be noted that the numerous watchful eyes of these creatures, located in front, on the sides and behind, are no longer created to admire the surrounding beauties. They provide terrain navigation and are designed to determine the location of potential prey and the required distance to reach it.
And this property is very useful for eight-legged predators, whose life is a war for survival and an endless search for new victims, and therefore contains many surprises. Indeed, despite their modest appearance, horses have not only amazing eyes, but also many other impressive abilities that can rightfully be called supernatural.
Of the class of arachnids, these creatures can be considered the smartest, since the ratio of body volume to brain mass is comparable to that of humans. But on the other hand, how can we humans compete with such tiny inhabitants of the planet!
Their world is so complex, multifaceted and full of events. And we don’t notice it only because it is too small and swarms too low under our feet. However, if nature gave us the strength of an ant, we could carry skyscrapers on our backs.
If people had the jumping ability of a grasshopper, they would cross huge rivers in the blink of an eye and ascend to the clouds. As their name suggests, jumping spiders are also champion jumpers. And this is true, and the additional capabilities of vision help them measure the accuracy of their leaps.
What does it eat?
This is a predatory arthropod that feeds on any insects. Preference is given to flies, wasps and ants. It hunts exclusively during the daytime, as it has developed eyesight.
Find out why people are afraid of spiders and how to deal with this fear.
The hydraulic system of movement of the limbs allows the horse to build up the pressure necessary for very long jumps.
Before jumping on the victim, it is attached to the surface on which it sits with a web, so that in case of a miss it returns to its original place.
Did you know? In 1975, Fred Wanless, a British arachnologist, went on an expedition to study arthropods living in the vicinity of the Himalayas. Later, he described his surprise as indescribable when, at an altitude of 6,700 meters, almost at the very top of Everest, he discovered the jumping spiders living there.
Kinds
Arachnids are considered one of the oldest among land animals. Among them, the order of spiders is considered the most famous and numerous. And the family of jumping spiders contains about two dozen subfamilies alone.
They are divided into six hundred genera. The species of jumping spiders are also famous for their diversity, and their representatives are many-sided, having a variety of characteristics, parameters and shapes. In total, according to the latest data, there are about 5800 varieties of such creatures.
Let's introduce some of the most famous and common ones.
1. Pied racer (common) - a small creature measuring only about 6 mm. The colors of such animals are really variegated, more precisely black and white. Their whole body is covered with hairs - these are the senses and smell, but especially the hairy paws. As for vision, it is perfectly developed, like all representatives of this family.
The eyes of such horses are large in size, but the two front eyes are even huge and create a stereoscopic image. Some eyes adjust sharpness, others detect movement. These spiders are widespread in the Northern Hemisphere and are often found near human habitation.
2. The golden jumping spider stands out among its relatives with its wonderful colors, shimmering in purple and gold, which makes such creatures reminiscent of precious stones. We could admire such splendor to our hearts’ content if we could take a good look at it all.
But this is a bit difficult, because the size of the beauties is only about 4 mm or a little more. Babies live in Thailand and other Southeast Asian regions. And despite their tiny size, golden spiders are rightfully considered successful and very skilled hunters.
Horses, having a natural talent to regulate blood pressure at will, change the size of their paws, increasing them so much that they are able to jump for prey at distances that are gigantic in comparison with their parameters. The maximum jump of a golden horse can be about half a meter.
3. The Himalayan horse , despite its tiny (less than 5 mm) size, is an extreme creature of its kind, because it has settled down to live in the Himalayan highlands. It lives in places where practically no life forms comparable to it are found.
And therefore he has to feed on tiny unfortunate insects, mainly springtails and flies, accidentally blown onto the mountain slopes by gusts of strong winds. These survival champions have a white and dark color scheme.
Their chitin, that is, a hard, dense shell that covers and protects the body of spiders, most often in such creatures has a dark brown color, and the hairs are white. Brave high-mountain extreme sports enthusiasts have shaggy, sometimes orange-tinged limbs.
4. The green jumping spider is a resident of distant Australia, found in some of its states and islands located in close proximity to the mainland, it is beautiful in its own way and resembles a green, sometimes yellowish candy, with legs extending from it. The males have especially bright colors and are famous for their mating dances.
Such spiders are large in comparison with many of their relatives, but in fact the babies are only a centimeter long. The chelicerae of males, like the front part of the head, have a different shade from other parts of the body, predominantly brown and white, which resembles sideburns.
5. The ant jumper is a tropical resident, often found in Africa and Australia, as well as in the Asian jungle. It is famous for the fact that it received its name; it is extremely similar in appearance to an ant, whose appearance, according to the whim of nature, it is designed to imitate.
The fact is that ants in the tropics are unusually aggressive and biting, and therefore everyone is afraid of them. And such mimicry turns out to be convenient and promotes survival. Such creatures have different colors, from black to sand. By the way, there are varieties of horses that copy false scorpions and some beetles in their external features.
6. The red-backed jumping spider is a tiny representative of the fauna of North America, however, among jumping spiders it is considered one of the largest. In its homeland it can be found in oak forests and coastal dunes. Such spiders prefer dry spaces, where they hide under logs and stones, and are often seen in vineyards.
These creatures are famous for their ability to build tubular silk nests, which can be found on vines and under rocks. The coloring of spiders is mostly dark, and the body is decorated with light hairs, especially thick on the limbs.
But the back of such eight-legged animals, as the name suggests, is really red. It can be monochromatic, or may have only scarlet areas interspersed with dark areas and white dots.
Varieties of jumping spiders
Different species differ in color, size, and habitat. Of the most common, it is worth noting several prominent representatives.
Lifestyle and habitat
The range of the described animals is very wide, and their widespread occurrence has made them quite famous throughout the world. The external diversity of horses depends on their habitat. Most of the species and the most interesting of them are found in the tropics.
But horses have adapted to live in a wide variety of terrestrial conditions and have populated many corners of the planet. They thrive in forests, mountains, even deserts, where they spend their lives on trees, plants, grass, rocks, soil and sand.
Such creatures are also found in temperate latitudes. Being heat-loving, they are often noticed by people at the moment when they crawl out of their hiding places and perch on the walls of buildings and other well-lit, heated places in order to heat their sides in the morning sun before starting to hunt down their prey.
Sometimes the species name can be used to judge the location of such spiders. An example of this is the hawthorn racer . Such creatures often catch the eye of a person, sitting on the tree and shrub flora mentioned in the name.
Although it is not so easy to notice them, because their color allows them to almost completely merge with their given environment. The body of the spiders itself is similar in shade to the trunks and branches, and the orange areas of the legs are in harmony with the fruits of the hawthorn. Such horses live on the Black Sea coast and in other places with a similar climate.
Tiny animals do not need the company of their own kind; they are loners. During the day, spiders are completely busy hunting, and at night they rush to hide in the cracks of rocks, trees, and buildings. This is where these eight-legged creatures tend to hide on days of bad weather, waiting for good weather and warmth.
Their bed is a cradle, independently woven from alkali spider threads. They also survive the winter in reliable shelters, from which they emerge only with the arrival of spring. These tiny spiders are incredibly brave and rarely run away at the sight of a strong opponent.
They attack and attack more often. Watching their dexterity, one cannot help but admire the supernatural abilities of these creatures. They are very mobile, run great, and the claws on their paws help them easily hold on and climb smooth vertical surfaces.
When hunting, they do not spin webs like their other eight-legged counterparts. They use their silk threads as a safety net while making dizzying jumps, the length of which exceeds their own parameters at least twenty times, or even much more.
Nutrition
The horse is nicknamed this way because, after tracking it, it jumps out at its prey and then devours it. At first, with lateral and rear vision, he records even the most insignificant movement around him. And having identified the victim, it determines with unmistakable accuracy the length of the trajectory to it.
And then, having chosen the right moment, he throws a safety thread to the place of his intended landing, jumps with lightning speed, sometimes right in the air he grabs the prey with his front paws, digs in with the chelicerae and injects poison. The injected substance, due to its special properties, dissolves the object of attack, turning it into a liquid substance, which the spider drinks with pleasure.
They feed mainly on insects. And here they are not particularly picky, they eat everything they come across, unless of course the victim is too large. Beetles, other spiders, gaping mosquitoes and flies, as well as other small animals are quite suitable for them.
But there are certain species that are capable of choosing even lizards or frogs as victims. This is not because the representatives of these species are so large, it’s just that nature has awarded the babies with sufficient courage, dexterity, outstanding hunting instinct and super abilities.
Seven new species of dancing spiders found in Australia (news). Video (00:01:38)
Seven new species of dancing spiders have been found in Australia. They say this spider can help get rid of arachnophobia, the fear of these insects. It is only eight millimeters long. This is an Australian jumping spider. And now he is performing a mating dance.
These bright insects live in bushes in the south of the continent.
[Jurgen Otto, biologist]: “They are simply amazing. Some people still think I’m making it all up because it’s just unbelievable.”
Recently, Sydney biologist Otto Jurgen and his colleague David Nowels discovered seven new species of jumping spiders. Before this, 41 species were known to science.
Otto has been photographing these insects for many years and posting photos and videos on the Internet.
[Jurgen Otto, biologist]: “People usually think that spiders are nasty, scary and dangerous. But through my photos and videos they learn that spiders can be cute, colorful and funny.”
To attract a female, males perform complex dances.
[David Knowles, biologist]: "It's the females who put pressure on the males to look better and dance better."
Now biologists are busy searching for even more new species of dancing spiders.
Reproduction and lifespan
Male spiders are usually smaller than the eight-legged ladies. This rule also applies to horses. They take an active part in procreation only at the very beginning, and then the female half picks up the baton in species reproduction.
Males occupy and conquer their own territory, from which they drive away their same-sex relatives, but not at all against female society. During the mating season, which lasts in temperate latitudes for the four warmest months of the year, and in hot countries almost all year round, cavalier spiders of all varieties lure their chosen ones with original dances.
The dancers, following a certain rhythm, jump and hit themselves with their front paws more than once. At the same time, they tremble all over their bodies, again waving their legs at a certain frequency.
They look for a mate so diligently that they are often ready to repeat similar dances even at the sight of their own reflection, apparently mistaking it for another spider. Also, while courting the “ladies,” the males try to feed them a delicious dinner. But after mating, their functions end. And caring mothers get down to business.
Females weave nests from silk spider threads, which are placed in quiet, reliable shelters. Having made a clutch, they watch it, but only until the small racers appear. Some species do not make nests, but simply hide their eggs under stones, fallen leaves or in tree bark, limiting the laying areas with spider threads.
Baby racers are born so viable that they are able to feed themselves, and from the first days they already have a passion for hunting. They grow during periodic molts, and after several of them, they reach an adult state. In the photo of the jumping spider you can see what these creatures look like. Their total lifespan is only about a year.
Benefits and harms
In their world they are cruel, dangerous, dexterous and ruthless predators. But nature works in such a way that harm to some species of living organisms inevitably turns into benefit to others.
By hunting insects and, due to their large numbers, exterminating them in large numbers, horses provide an invaluable service for many wild and cultivated types of flora, thus protecting forests and farmland.
By destroying flies, mosquitoes and other blood-sucking parasites, these brave spiders regulate their numbers, and therefore become useful for many warm-blooded animals, including humans themselves.
And thus horses play their important role in the planetary ecosystem. In addition, they themselves become food for small mammals, lizards, wasps and other organisms, restoring the natural balance.
These creatures are permanent and frequent neighbors of humans, and therefore often penetrate into homes, which is not always pleasant for bipeds. But people would do well to think that the benefits of such spiders for the environment far outweigh their harm. It should also be remembered that our ancestors considered the presence of these small creatures in their home as a good omen, promising prosperity and good luck.
Often uncontrollable fears, phobias, arise in people in relation to eight-legged animals under the influence of prejudices and fictitious, not real, danger. Are jumping spiders poisonous or not ?
Without a doubt, they are not capable of causing harm to humans, so there is absolutely no need to be afraid of them. More precisely, such creatures have poison, but are not able to bite through the skin of large mammals, and besides, they are too small for their doses to be at least noticeable to us.
Importance in the ecosystem
Most species of spiders are able to provide benefits by destroying insects that are plant parasites. Jumping spiders, also known as vampire spiders, were described by scientists back in 2003. This species lives in Uganda, Kenya and near Lake Victoria. Often found near human habitation, the species contributes to a significant reduction in the population of annoying mosquitoes.
Spiders of this species mainly use female mosquitoes that have drunk blood as food. Thanks to their acute sense of smell, jumping spiders easily determine the location of such an insect. The time a spider attacks a victim, as a rule, does not exceed a hundredth of a second. The main part of the vampire spider's diet consists of malarial mosquitoes, so their importance in nature is difficult to underestimate.
This is interesting! The species found in our country prey on many garden and garden pests, therefore they help home garden owners keep their garden plantings and vegetable crops intact throughout the warm season.
Interesting Facts
In the story about these creatures, many interesting facts about them have already been mentioned. And it’s not surprising, because their life is very unusual. But to all of the above, let’s add some more details.
- A well-developed special hydraulic system inside their bodies helps horses regulate blood pressure in their own legs, expanding and enlarging them for grandiose jumps. This complex biological mechanism becomes the main reason for their extraordinary jumping ability.
- The remarkable visual organs of such spiders, although they help them see the world in a color image, due to the structural features of the retina, they do not perceive green shades clearly enough, seeing them somewhat blurry. But this is not a drawback at all, because this property helps eight-legged creatures, ignoring green vegetation, to better focus on the object of the hunt, accurately determining the trajectory of their throw.
- Among the huge number of species of predatory horses, there was a vegetarian, by the way, the only herbivorous representative of the entire diverse spider tribe. This is a spider of the Bagheera Kipling variety. Such creatures live in Central America, live on acacia trees and eat belt bodies from them - growths on the leaves.
It has been noticed that horses watch people especially carefully with their many eyes. It is unlikely that this is associated with a desire to attack or with a feeling of danger. Rather, it is simply curiosity, in this way small creatures study a person, watch us.
People are also interested in them, and therefore representatives of some of the species often become pets. The royal jumping spider is especially suitable for this . Among its baby relatives, it is the largest and reaches sizes of up to 1.5 cm. Such unusual pets are kept in terrariums and often turn out to be very funny and cute.
Notes
- Seifulina R. R., Kartsev V. M.
Spiders of central Russia: Atlas-determinant. - M.: Fiton+, 2011. - P. 112. - 1000 copies. — ISBN 978-5-93457-348-6. - Maddison, Wayne P.
A phylogenetic classification of jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) (English) // Journal of Arachnology: Journal. — American Arachnological Society. - Vol. 43, no. 3. - P. 231-292. — ISSN 0161-8202. - Martin Nyffeler, G.B. Edwards, Kenneth L. Krysko.
A vertebrate-eating jumping spider (Araneae: Salticidae) from Florida, USA (English) // Journal of Arachnology. — 2017-08. - T. 45, issue. 2. - pp. 238–241. — ISSN 1937-2396 0161-8202, 1937-2396. — DOI:10.1636/joa-17-011.1.
