Fencepost jumping spider
Fencepost jumping spider
Marpissa muscosa
Arachnida
UNCOMMON

Stats

Lifespan
1-2 years
Size
Small
Diet
Insectivore
Activity
Diurnal
Social
Solitary
Biome
Temperate forest
Range
Europe and Asia
Movement
Hopping
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Camouflage
Status
Uncommon

About

This jumping spider lives on wooden fence posts and tree bark in temperate zones. It uses a silk safety line to anchor itself before leaping up to forty times its body length.

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

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Arachnida
Order
Araneae
Family
Salticidae
Genus
Marpissa
Species
Marpissa muscosa