Phidippus audax
Phidippus audax | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Female in Columbia County, Florida | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
Class: | Arachnida |
Order: | Araneae |
Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
Family: | Salticidae |
Subfamily: | Salticinae |
Genus: | Phidippus |
Species: | P. audax
|
Binomial name | |
Phidippus audax (Hentz, 1845)
| |
![]() | |
Synonyms | |
Phidippus audax is a common jumping spider of North America. It is commonly referred to as the bold jumping spider or bold jumper.[1] The spider belongs to the genus Phidippus, a group of jumping spiders easily identified both by their relatively large size and their iridescent chelicerae.
Like other jumping spiders, due to their large, forward-facing eyes, they have excellent stereoscopic vision. This aids them when stalking prey, and facilitates visual communication with potential mates during courting.
Description
Phidippus audax varies widely in size and coloration.[2] Adult males range from 4–15 millimeters in body length, with an average of 8 mm. Adult females range from 4–18 millimeters in body length, with an average of 11 mm.[2] They are typically black with a pattern of spots and stripes on their abdomen and legs. Often these spots are orange-tinted in juveniles, turning white as the spider matures. However, in some parts of Florida it is common for adults to have yellow, orange, or red spots.[2] The chelicerae (mouthparts) are a bright, metallic green or blue.
Vision
Phidippus audax have four pairs of specialized eyes that allow them to see nearly 360° around them.[3]
Habitat
Like most jumping spiders, P. audax tends to prefer relatively open areas to hunt in, as they actively seek and stalk prey and do not build webs to catch food. However, they do use webbing when nursing eggs or sheltering. They also use spider silk as a tether when jumping for prey or evading predators.
They are common in fields and grasslands, and are frequently seen on fences, exterior walls, and gardens as well. Many jumping spiders seem to prefer flat vertical surfaces, likely because it enables them to spot and chase down roaming insects with ease.
Distribution
This species is common in extreme southern Canada, throughout the United States and parts of northern Mexico, plus Cuba and Puerto Rico, and has been introduced to Hawaii and the Nicobar Islands.
Name
P. audax is the type species for the genus Phidippus. The species name is derived from the Latin word audax meaning "daring, audacious".
Bites
Like most spiders, P. audax rarely bites humans. While symptoms of a bite may vary, the most likely symptoms are pain, itching, swelling and redness with a duration of 1 to 2 days.[4]
In culture
As of 2021, this species is the State Spider of New Hampshire. The designation came after a campaign by a class in Hollis, New Hampshire, to designate a state spider.[5][6]
Gallery
References
- ^ "Common Names of Arachnids (2003)" (PDF) (5th ed.). The American Arachnological Society. 2003. p. 10. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ a b c Edwards, Glavis B. (2004). Revision of the jumping spiders of the genus Phidippus (Araneae, Salticidae). Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. pp. 72–76.
- ^ Menda, Gil; Shamble, Paul S.; Nitzany, Eyal I.; Golden, James R.; Hoy, Ronald R. (November 3, 2014). "Visual Perception in the Brain of a Jumping Spider". Current Biology. 24 (21): 2580–2585. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.029. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 25308077.
- ^ "Bold Jumper Spider". Penn State Department of Entomology. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
- ^ "Governor Chris Sununu Signs Spider Bill, 7 Other Bills Into Law". Governor Christopher T. Sununu. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- ^ Ropeik, Annie (June 14, 2021). "Daring Or Bold? N.H.'s New State Spider Tends To Hide From Humans". www.nhpr.org. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
Further reading
- Platnick, Norman I. (2009). The world spider catalog (version 9.5 ed.). American Museum of Natural History.
External links
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- David Edwin Hill: Portrait of feeding female Phidippus audax — Video
- Daring Jumping Spider Reference quality diagnostic photos
- Diagnostic drawings Archived May 1, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- Pictures of P. audax (free for noncommercial use)Error: "Q134277" is not a valid Wikidata entity ID.
- Articles with short description
- Short description with empty Wikidata description
- Use mdy dates from June 2018
- Articles with 'species' microformats
- Commons link is defined as the pagename
- Webarchive template wayback links
- Taxonbars desynced from Wikidata
- Taxonbar pages requiring a Wikidata item
- Taxonbars with invalid from parameters
- Taxonbars without secondary Wikidata taxon IDs
- Spiders described in 1845
- Taxa named by Nicholas Marcellus Hentz
- Salticidae
- Spiders of North America