Zebra spider
Encyclopedia
The zebra spider, Salticus scenicus, is a common household jumping spider. Like other jumping spiders, it does not build a web
. It uses its four pairs of large eyes to locate prey and its jumping ability to pounce and capture it. Zebra spiders are often noted for their awareness of humans. Upon noticing someone observing them, they can be seen raising their head, and usually change behavior (hence why salticus scenius, theathral jumper).
. These tiny spiders are black with white hairs that form stripes.
, Europe
, and North America
, and are found throughout the Holarctic
. They often live close to or in human settlements. They can be found on walls, plants and fences on sunny days; and also indoors on window sills, often in the corner behind curtains.
s that are almost twice their length. They have also been observed taking on prey items up to 3 times the length of the spider, such as some of the smaller species of moth
.
Like other jumping spiders, these spiders use their large front eyes to locate and stalk their prey. They move slowly towards their prey until they are close enough to pounce on top of their victim, and their hunting behaviour has been described as cat-like. Using their acute eyesight, they are able to accurately judge the distances they need to jump.
Before jumping, they glue a silk thread
to the surface that they are jumping from so that if they miss the target, they can climb up the thread and try again. They ignore unappetising insects such as ants.
There are no extensor muscles at the 'hinge joints' of the spider leg, instead joints extension is due to the haemocoelic blood pressure
in the leg. The most significant evidence that this extension is due to hydraulic forces is that the leg spines become erect during the jump, a result of increased body pressure which can be demonstrated on many spiders. The zebra spider's jump is almost entirely due to the sudden straightening of the fourth pair of legs. The spider leaves behind it a silk drag-line which is thought to exert a control force on the jump. The Mean jumping velocity is estimated to be between 0.64 metre per second.
will want to mate
, although arachnologists have yet to discover what it is the female looks for in a mating dance. Females will stay with their egg sacs and will guard the young after they hatch. After the spiderlings have had their second moult
they will leave the mother and fend for themselves.
's 1757 work Svenska Spindlar / Aranei Suecici
, the starting point for spider names in zoological nomenclature. Clerck originally called the species Araneus scenicus, and Carl Linnaeus, in the 1758 edition of Systema Naturae
named it Aranea scenica; the specific epithet means "actor
". Since then a number of synonyms have been published:
Spider web
A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web or cobweb is a device built by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets....
. It uses its four pairs of large eyes to locate prey and its jumping ability to pounce and capture it. Zebra spiders are often noted for their awareness of humans. Upon noticing someone observing them, they can be seen raising their head, and usually change behavior (hence why salticus scenius, theathral jumper).
Description
Female zebra spiders are 5–7 mm (0.196850393700787–0.275590551181102 ) long and males are 5 millimetre. The most distinctive feature of these spiders is their two very large eyes, which is typical for jumping spiders. Although they have eight eyes, the two at the front are the largest and give them excellent binocular visionBinocular vision
Binocular vision is vision in which both eyes are used together. The word binocular comes from two Latin roots, bini for double, and oculus for eye. Having two eyes confers at least four advantages over having one. First, it gives a creature a spare eye in case one is damaged. Second, it gives a...
. These tiny spiders are black with white hairs that form stripes.
Distribution
Zebra spiders are widespread across BritainUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and are found throughout the Holarctic
Holarctic
The Holarctic ecozone refers to the habitats found throughout the northern continents of the world as a whole. This region is divided into the Palearctic, consisting of Northern Africa and all of Eurasia, with the exception of Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and the Nearctic,...
. They often live close to or in human settlements. They can be found on walls, plants and fences on sunny days; and also indoors on window sills, often in the corner behind curtains.
Behavior
Diet
Zebra spiders tend to hunt insects or spiders of roughly their own size or smaller. They have been observed feeding on mosquitoMosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
s that are almost twice their length. They have also been observed taking on prey items up to 3 times the length of the spider, such as some of the smaller species of moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
.
Like other jumping spiders, these spiders use their large front eyes to locate and stalk their prey. They move slowly towards their prey until they are close enough to pounce on top of their victim, and their hunting behaviour has been described as cat-like. Using their acute eyesight, they are able to accurately judge the distances they need to jump.
Hunting
They orientate towards prey detected by its lateral eyes whenever the angle subtended by such prey exceeds 5.5°. The velocity of the prey is not involved in the determination of reactive distance, but only moving objects elicit orientation. The probability that orientation is followed by stalking is a function of both prey size and velocity. The zebra spider's stalk velocity declines progressively as it nears its (stationary) prey.Before jumping, they glue a silk thread
Spider silk
Spider silk is a protein fiber spun by spiders. Spiders use their silk to make webs or other structures, which function as nets to catch other animals, or as nests or cocoons for protection for their offspring...
to the surface that they are jumping from so that if they miss the target, they can climb up the thread and try again. They ignore unappetising insects such as ants.
There are no extensor muscles at the 'hinge joints' of the spider leg, instead joints extension is due to the haemocoelic blood pressure
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies...
in the leg. The most significant evidence that this extension is due to hydraulic forces is that the leg spines become erect during the jump, a result of increased body pressure which can be demonstrated on many spiders. The zebra spider's jump is almost entirely due to the sudden straightening of the fourth pair of legs. The spider leaves behind it a silk drag-line which is thought to exert a control force on the jump. The Mean jumping velocity is estimated to be between 0.64 metre per second.
Reproduction
When these spiders meet, the male carries out a courtship dance involving waving his front legs and moving his abdomen up and down. The better the dance the more likely the femaleFemale
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
will want to mate
Mating
In biology, mating is the pairing of opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for copulation. In social animals, it also includes the raising of their offspring. Copulation is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproducing animals for insemination and subsequent internal fertilization...
, although arachnologists have yet to discover what it is the female looks for in a mating dance. Females will stay with their egg sacs and will guard the young after they hatch. After the spiderlings have had their second moult
Ecdysis
Ecdysis is the moulting of the cuticula in many invertebrates. This process of moulting is the defining feature of the clade Ecdysozoa, comprising the arthropods, nematodes, velvet worms, horsehair worms, rotifers, tardigrades and Cephalorhyncha...
they will leave the mother and fend for themselves.
Taxonomic history
Salticus scenicus was one of the spiders included in Carl Alexander ClerckCarl Alexander Clerck
Carl Alexander Clerck was a Swedish entomologist and arachnologist.Clerck came from a family in the petty nobility and entered the University of Uppsala in 1726. Little is known of his studies; although a contemporary of Linnaeus, it is unknown whether he had any contact with him during his time...
's 1757 work Svenska Spindlar / Aranei Suecici
Svenska Spindlar
The book or was one of the major works of the Swedish arachnologist and entomologist Carl Alexander Clerck and appeared in Stockholm in the year 1757. It was the first comprehensive book on the spiders of Sweden and one of the first regional monographs of a group of animals worldwide...
, the starting point for spider names in zoological nomenclature. Clerck originally called the species Araneus scenicus, and Carl Linnaeus, in the 1758 edition of Systema Naturae
Systema Naturae
The book was one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carolus Linnaeus. The first edition was published in 1735...
named it Aranea scenica; the specific epithet means "actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
". Since then a number of synonyms have been published:
- Araneus scenicus
- Aranea scenica
- Aranea albo-fasciata
- Aranea fulvata
- Attus scenicus
- Attus candefactus
- Epiblemum faustum
- Attus scenicoides
- Calliethera histrionica
- Calliethera scenica
- Calliethera aulica
- Salticus albovittatus
- Attus histrionicus
- Callithera alpina
- Callietherus histrionicus
- Epiblemum histrionicum
- Salticus histrionicus
- Epiblemum scenicum
- Calliethera goberti
- Calliethera albovittata