![]() Drop me a line if you find yourself mesmerized by this little beast. I’m thinking it would be fun to set up an interactive site about this species, and it would be good to get its full distribution in North America all mapped out (the Encyclopedia of life entry for the species does have a map, but the data for NA are quite patchy). Please keep an eye out for this species! McGill’s spider collection currently has only two specimens (an immature specimen from Edmonton, and a mature male collected from my house, just off the island of Montreal). Norm Platnick’s wonderful world spider catalog can give you the full “evolution” of its current name (by the way, it is also the type species for the genus Salticus) Salticus scenicus was originally described by Clerck in 1757 (as Araneus scenicus) and in 1758 Linnaeus described it as Aranea scenica. It is often assumed that the species is native to Europe and “invaded” North America, although I have been unable to track down strong evidence to support this claim ( can anyone help?). Salticus scenicus is holarctic in its current distribution, known throughout Europe and North America. What to look for: The zebra jumping spider can grow up to 8mm, which is surprisingly large for a jumping spider, and they can jump an impressive 10cm. It’s an ‘urban’ spider, and one with some good fashion sense. In my experience it’s rare to find the species other than in proximity to human settlements. ![]() Wondering How To Get Rid Of Zebra Jumping Spiders Are you. As the weather warms, Zebra spiders move outdoors, and I have often watched this species move around on exterior walls, especially those with south-facing, full-sun exposure. You can distinguish males from females given their huge mouthparts with fangs (chelicerae). Salticus scenicus is most commonly associated with buildings, and is often seen inside during the colder months. Although I couldn’t find a courtship video of the Zebra spider on youtube, I did come across this rather entertaining video that does nicely show many of the personalities of the species (with a bonus of having some interesting accompanying music…): Jumping spiders are very well known for their complicated and fascinating courtship behaviours – many of you have likely seen some examples of these on youtube (e.g., – sound and motion!). ![]() It feeds on other arthropods, and seems particularly fond of flies (Diptera), and they are often reported to take down mosquitoes much larger than themselves. As is the case with most other species of jumping spiders, it has incredible vision (for an arthropod) and uses this visual acuity to seek and align with its prey (from an impressive distance), dart, dance, and, of course, jump. The Zebra spider is quite small (< 1 cm in body length), but their personalities are large! In latin, “scenicus” means actor or player, which is appropriate, as this jumping spider is extremely entertaining to watch. I think, however, that its common name could also be the “window spider” to describe one of its very common habitats (this is where I have frequently watched this species). Salticus scenicus is aptly named the Zebra spider given its fashionable black and white “striped” colouration (more like chevrons, but close enough?). The Zebra Spider, Salticus scenicus, (C) Alex Wild
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