This week, if you live pretty much anywhere north of Mexico, a tropical vacation sounds pretty appealing. Well, if you were a Pantropical Jumping Spider, Plexippus paykulli, you would probably be enjoying yourself right now. This species is a world traveler, now dispersed to most tropical and subtropical climates across the globe. Envious?
The Pantropical Jumper is pretty easy to find, too, since it hangs out on the exterior of buildings where it can be quite conspicuous. The only problem might be telling it apart from the Gray Wall Jumper which is often seen on buildings, too. Both species are of similar size. Adult females of the Pantropical Jumper are 10-12 millimeters in body length; males average 9.5 millimeters.
Plexippus paykulli is also sexually dimorphic, meaning that the male gender looks radically different from the female sex. In fact, it would be easy to assume they are two different species. This is typical of many jumping spiders: the males are adorned with colorful scales, or tufts of hair on their legs and/or pedipalps which are used to communicate with the female through elaborate displays, often accompanied by vibrations carried through the substrate (surface on which the spiders are sitting).
Pantropical jumpers don’t sit on the beach sipping fruity drinks. Nope. They actively seek prey by day, including small moths, flies, flying ants, and even other spiders. They have the typical behavior of most jumping spiders in the family Salticidae, running a short distance, pausing, pumping their pedipalps up and down, and turning to face whatever piques their curiosity (or perceived threat).
Mated females of this species spin a small, flat egg sac about nine millimeters in diameter that contains anywhere from 35-60 eggs. A larger silken envelope, 25-35 millimeters around, covers the egg case and serves as a retreat for the female to guard her future offspring. Look for these nurseries under eaves of buildings, in cracks and crevices, or under boards and other objects.
Here in the United States, Plexippus paykulli can be found year-round in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, the Gulf Coast states, and south Texas. Outlying populations in New Mexico, and north along the Atlantic seaboard are probably the result of accidental introductions. You are also likely to see this spider in such exotic locales as Hawaii, Hong Kong, India, Greece, and parts of Africa. It is assumed that the species is native to southeast Asia.
The Pantropical Jumping Spider should be considered an asset to any resort, hotel, or motel, for they are literally a mobile pest control service. They are known to hunt mosquitoes and small cockroaches among other pests. I guess you would call that a “working vacation.”
Sources: Bradley, Richard A. 2013. Common Spiders of North America. Berkeley: University of California Press. 271 pp.Edwards, G.B., Jr. 2002. “Jumping Spiders,” Featured Creatures. Division of Plant Industry and University of Florida.
Gaddy, L.L. 2009. Spiders of the Carolinas. Duluth, MN: Kollath+Stensaas Publishing. 208 pp.
”Pantropical Jumper,” iNaturalist.
Nice post! Interesting creature.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Steven!
DeleteI have one here in my apartment I’m Harrisonburg VA. She’s sweet. Can they be aggressive?
ReplyDeleteNot aggressive at all, except toward potential prey....Very curious, though, which can be interpreted as aggression.
DeleteDo these spiders eat spores that grew out from the dead leaves ?
ReplyDeleteNo, spiders are, as a general rule, predators on other animals.
DeleteCan these appear in Missouri? I believe i have a few females
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info.Several of them living in our house, but lately one of them is very insistent to have a nest in our Aeschynanthus Lipstick plant,we removed the web several times,but she always came back.So we decided to let her live in it.I am not sure whether it is a sweet or a weird situation?I would appreciate your ideas about it.
ReplyDeleteJumping spiders do not spin webs, so you are describing some other kind of spider, I think.
DeleteWhat is the lifespan of the pantropical jumping spiders ??
ReplyDeleteI do not know. Probably a little longer than you might expect, especially in subtropical regions.
DeleteHow do they eat their prey exactly? I have a female living in my living room window. I kept finding semi neat piles of dead flies. Clean them up, find the same thing later on. Thought they were dying on their own until I recently found the female right above the area with a fly in her "mouth". Seems when she's done, she drops them there. I got to wondering, how exactly does the process work? It doesn't look like any part of the fly is missing. She just holds it in her mouth for a while (hours maybe) and then drops it. Is it kind of how we humans would drink a milkshake? Weird questions, sorry. I find these guys both cute and fascinating!
ReplyDeleteNo such thing as a "weird question!" I wish I could give you good answers, though. Spiders do ingest food in liquid form, so yes, the milkshake analogy is a pretty good one. Never heard of a roaming spider like a jumping spider hoarding the carcasses of prior meals, though. *That* is truly odd.
DeleteMy jumping spider does the same thing and she lives in my kitchen window I love her and all her babies I’m a grand spider ma lol
DeleteIf Bitten by one of these, would it be serious or painful?
ReplyDeleteWill it turn red?
Or Swell up?
Spider bites are incredibly rare events; and your experience has more to do with the behavior of your immune system than it does with the spider's venom (with a few exceptions like widow spiders).
DeleteThey have such great personalities, I love watching them in my garden.
ReplyDeleteIs it recommended to get rid of these? There are quite a few found around my Aunt's screened in patio in South Florida. I'm NOT a fan of any spider, so I geniunely would like them gone but if they are truly beneficial I would try to ignore them.
ReplyDeleteThey are indeed beneficial and will not trouble you. Just let them be and your Aunt should be able to co-exist quite peacefully with them
ReplyDelete