Some flies (Order Diptera) are known to mimic spiders from the family Salticidae in order to escape predators.
Zebra spiders have very large, well-developed frontal eyes. Unlike those of most spiders, which can only perceive motion, the eyes of jumping spiders can form detailed images. They have well-developed retinas that move independently of each other, and large lenses. Visual stimuli are used in hunting, courtship rituals, and to escape from predators.
Vibrations and chemical stimuli are also used in hunting and communications. While hunting, salticids can recognize their prey based on the vibrations the animal creates when it lands on the substrate. Prey items such as flies produce high frequency vibrations compared to background noise. Spiders can also perceive their environment through senses of smell and taste. Tasting occurs when a spider's contact chemoreceptors, located on the legs and palps, come into contact with a substance of a high concentration, while volatile substances can be sensed by olfaction in smaller concentrations. Females release sex pheromones to attract males.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: pheromones ; vibrations
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; vibrations ; chemical
This species has not been evaluated by the IUCN red list and has no special conservation status.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
Spiders develop in an egg sac that is usually hidden under a rock. Development consists of an embryonic period, a larval period, a nympho-imaginal period, and adulthood. The embryonic period begins when the egg is fertilized. In the larval stage, the spider survives on yolk from the egg and still lacks any distinguishable morphological features. The nympho-imaginal period follows the larval period. "Nymph" refers to the juvenile spider, while "imago" refers to the adult. During this phase, the spider develops functioning organ systems and hatches. Molting occurs between each of these development stages. In salticid spiders, juveniles undergo 5-11 instars before becoming an adult.
Zebra spiders, like most spiders, produce a venom from glands located inside the chelicerae. However, this species is very small and a bite is unlikely to cause injury to a human, or even be able to pierce their skin.
Zebra spiders primarily feed on flies and mosquitoes. These organisms are human pests and disease vectors. Predation by zebra spiders can help to keep populations of these pests in check.
Positive Impacts: controls pest population
Zebra spiders are predators that feed on a variety of organisms. They primarily feed on flies and mosquitos, but have also been known to eat butterflies and moths, ants, wasps, and bees, cicadas, and spiders.
Zebra spiders are active predators that feed primarily on insects, and can catch prey that is much larger than their body size. Their primary prey are dipterans, which includes mosquitos and flies. They do, however, also prey on small spiders, and will even eat members of their own species. When cannibalism occurs, the smaller spider is always the victim. Zebra spiders use their excellent vision to locate their prey.
Animal Foods: insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods
Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore )
Zebra spiders have a Holarctic distribution. They are native to Europe, where they are found throughout the continent, but are also found throughout North America north of Mexico to southern Canada, where it is believed that they are an introduced species. This species has also been recorded across Russia, with additional records from Afghanistan, Greenland, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and Argentina.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Introduced ); palearctic (Native ); neotropical (Introduced )
Other Geographic Terms: holarctic
Zebra spiders are a terrestrial, urban species of spider. These spiders are commonly seen on vertical surfaces such as walls, fences, window panes. They also live in forests, meadows, and gardens.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest
Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban
Little information is available regarding the longevity of zebra spiders in the wild, but most spiders living in temperate regions live for one to two years. In captivity, the life expectancy of zebra spiders is two to three years, with females generally living longer than males.
Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 1 to 2 years.
Typical lifespan
Status: captivity: 2 to 3 years.
Zebras spiders are small, ranging from 4-7 mm in size. Females are larger than males and usually range from 4-6.5 mm while males range from 4-5.5 mm. They have 3-4 white stripes on their abdomens; those at the base of the abdomen are complete, while those in the middle are narrow or broken. The abdomen is longer and narrower than the cephalothorax. Males have a more elaborate striping pattern on their legs. In males, the chelicerae are larger than in females and extend almost horizontally.
These spiders have eight eyes arranged in three rows, with two pairs of eyes in the front row and one pair in each of the other rows. The main AME (anterior median eyes), which are located in the center of the first row of eyes, are extremely large and are used for binocular vision. The ALE (anterior lateral eyes) are smaller than the AME and are located in the first row of eyes. This is a characteristic of spiders in the family Salticidae. The eyes in the second row provide vision in the forward direction while the final row of eyes allow the spider to look upward.
These spiders are covered in hair. They have cushions of hair called scopulae on their legs and feet. The scopulae located on the bottom of their feet are particularly dense and are the only part of the spiders' body that touches the substrate. These hairs increase the surface area of the feet and work by adhesive forces, which allows jumping spiders to stick to smooth, vertical substrates.
Range length: 4.0 to 7.0 mm.
Average length: 4.0-6.5 mm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry ; venomous
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger; sexes colored or patterned differently; sexes shaped differently
Spider wasps and mantises are known predators of zebra spiders. Zebra spiders have neutral coloration which helps them blend into their environment. They are heavily reliant on their eyesight to escape predators.
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
All salticid spiders have courtship rituals in which the male performs for the female. This is a visual ritual relying heavily on eyesight. Males use the stripped markings on their legs to attract a female. A male spider will dance in a zigzag pattern moving his pedipalps, front legs, and abdomen. During the dance, the female watches the male. If the female accepts the male, she crouches down, thereby signaling that the male may approach her. While still facing the female, the male climbs on top of her, and she orients her abdomen so that he can insert sperm into her genital opening.
Mating System: monogamous
Zebra spiders breed in spring and early summer. Specific information about number of offspring and time from egg deposition to independence is currently unavailable, as is information regarding time to sexual maturity. It is likely that, as with most temperate spider species, females reach maturity at some point in their first year of life, with males maturing somewhat earlier.
Breeding interval: Zebra spiders breed once yearly
Breeding season: Spring and early summer
Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); oviparous
Salticid species keep their eggs in a cocoon spun from silk. The mother closely guards the eggs until they hatch. Female zebra spiders guard their young until after the young have had their second molt. The young spiderlings then disperse and must care for themselves.
Parental Investment: precocial ; female parental care ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Protecting: Female)
