REGAL JUMPING SPIDER Phidippus regius

Size: Females nine tenths of an inch length; males up to seven tenths of an inch

Description: Males: black with white markings on abdomen, white banding on legs, and blue-green chelicerae (mouth parts); Females: can be orange or grey based with black markings on abdomen, cephalothorax (head), and legs, green or red-violet iridescent chelicerae. The eyes of a jumping spider are situated with four eyes in front, two on either side of their head region and one pair on top (see drawing below).

Habitat: They are found in field and open wooded environments with palms and shrubs.

Diet: Regal jumping spiders have been known to eat insects several times their size, including bees, wasps, grasshoppers, and other spiders. They leap on their prey after stalking them.

Nesting: Females lay up to four different nests a year, with 400-700 eggs total. Silk is spun under bark or in cracks. The males’ mating dance includes vibrating scales and showing off leg hairs, called fringes.

Webs: Webbing, though not used for catching prey, is used as a jump line when leaping, for spinning egg sacs, and creating a tunnel to rest in at night.

Did you know?

• Regal jumping spiders are the largest jumping spiders in eastern North America.

• Jumping spiders can leap 10 or more times their body length and often capture prey their size or slightly larger.

MALE HGHjim FEMALE—ORANGE FORM FEMALE—GREY FORM

David Edwin Hill http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/regal_jumping_spider.htm