Stats

Lifespan: About 1 yr
Size: Tiny
Diet: Insectivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: Northern Hemisphere
Movement: Hopping
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Speed
Status: Common

About

The zebra jumping spider is a tiny black-and-white striped hunter of the Northern Hemisphere that skips webs entirely, instead using its large forward-facing eyes — capable of resolving detail that rivals a hawk's — to stalk and pounce on prey many times its size.

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.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Salticidae
Genus: Salticus
Species: Salticus scenicus