Stats

Lifespan

Under 1 yr

Size

Large

Diet

Insectivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

North America

Movement

Walking

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

A bright-green ambush hunter found on shrubs and wildflowers across the southern U.S., relying on sharp eyesight and long spiny legs to leap on prey rather than spinning a web. It is the largest lynx spider in North America.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg sac

   A silk-wrapped egg sac shelters a clutch of eggs until the young are ready to emerge.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   A spiderling emerges from the egg sac already in miniature adult form and starts catching prey almost immediately.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult arachnid molts through several instars, growing larger and developing mature markings.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown after its final molt.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Arachnida

Order

Araneae

Family

Oxyopidae

Genus

Peucetia

Species

Peucetia viridans