This small, active spider is frequently mistaken for the black widow because of its red abdomen. In truth, it bears no real resemblance, having very short legs and only being 3/8 inch in size. It also has fairly large eyes.

Jumping spiders are generally recognized by their eye pattern. They typically have eight eyes arranged in two or three rows. The front, and most distinctive row is enlarged and forward facing to enable stereoscopic vision. The others are situated back on the cephalothorax. Colours and patterns vary widely. Several species of jumping spiders appear to mimic ants, beetles, or pseudoscorpions. Others may appear to be parts of grass stems, bumps on twigs, bark, part of a rock or even part of a sand surface.

Jumping spiders capture their prey by jumping on it from several inches away, and they may jump from twig to twig or leaf to leaf. They can jump many times their body length. They can carry out complex maneuvers such as detours around obstacles in order to reach their prey. Their eyesight is much better than the other spiders and most, if not all, insects. Most other spiders will only eat prey that they have captured live because they are unable to see dead prey (some long-legged sac spiders and anyphaenid sac spiders are exceptions as they recognize insect eggs as food) but jumping spiders will eat flies that have been killed for them. One jumping spider (Evarcha culicivora) is even known to only capture mosquitos full of blood, using their eyesight and smell.

Jumping spiders are common in gardens and lawns, and in the spring often make their way into homes in search of prey, being found in windows and doorways. Jumping spiders are hunters, and do not spin a web to catch their meals. They pounce on their prey from quite a distance. They eat just about any bugs that are smaller than they are, and are active in the daylight hours. They are not really a pest as they do get rid of other insects.

Life Cycle:

The females make a funnel web to retreat into and lay their eggs.