Stats

Lifespan: About 1 yr
Size: Small
Diet: Insectivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: North America
Movement: Hopping
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Rare

About

This jumping spider is native to Cuba and other parts of the Caribbean, where it hunts by sight rather than webs, using its large forward-facing eyes to spot and stalk prey before pouncing. Like other Paraphidippus species, males often display iridescent scales that flash metallic green or purple in direct light during courtship.

Life cycle

1.
egg sac
A silk-wrapped egg sac shelters a clutch of eggs until the young are ready to emerge.
2.
juvenile
A spiderling emerges from the egg sac already in miniature adult form and starts catching prey almost immediately.
3.
subadult
A near-adult arachnid molts through several instars, growing larger and developing mature markings.
4.
adult
Fully grown after its final molt.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Salticidae
Genus: Paraphidippus
Species: Paraphidippus fartilis