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Jumping spider, or jumping spider (Salticidae) belongs to the family of araneomorphic spiders. This family is represented by more than 5000 species, and according to the scientific classification, it belongs to a fairly extensive sub-kingdom of Eumetazoa.
Appearance description
Jumping spiders can have a wide variety of colors, and quite often imitate an ant, beetle and false scorpion with their appearance. The first half of the cephalothorax is strongly raised, and the back is flattened. The sides of the cephalothorax are steep. Separation of the head and chest is usually provided by a shallow and transverse groove. Bimodal respiratory system represented by the lungs and trachea.
The horse spider is characterized by the presence of eight eyes, which are arranged in three rows. The first row has four large eyes occupying the front part of the head. The anterior medial very large eyes are characterized by mobility. Eyes allow spiders to distinguish the shape of an object and its color.
The eyes of the second row are represented by a pair of very small eyes, and in the third row there are two rather large eyes, which are located at the corners of the border of the head with the chest. With the help of these eyes, the spider is provided with an overview, which is almost 360 degrees.
It is interesting! The special structure of the retina makes it possible to accurately determine the distance to any object.
Habitat
The habitat of jumping spiders can be a wide variety of places. A significant number of species are found in the area rainforest. Some species are common in the temperate forest zone, semi-deserts and in desert or mountainous areas.
Common types
jumping spiders in natural conditions represented by several species that differ in appearance, size and distribution area:
- elegant golden jumping spider lives in the territory of the southeast Asian countries, and is characterized by a long ventral part and a large first pair of legs. The body has a very peculiar golden coloration. The length of the male rarely exceeds 76 mm, and the females are larger;
- the Himalayan species is tiny and distributed high above sea level, in the Himalayas, where its only prey is random small insects that are blown onto the mountain slopes by strong gusts of wind;
- The green jumping spider lives in Queensland, New Guinea and New South Wales. It is quite common in Western Australia, where it is one of the largest spiders. The male has a very bright coloration, and his body is decorated with long whitish whiskers;
- the red-backed jumping spider prefers to settle in relatively dry areas and is often found on coastal dunes or in oak woodlands North America, where it is one of the largest jumping spiders. A feature of this species is the ability to build tube-type silk nests under stones, wood and on the surface of a vine;
- Hyllus Diardi species has a body up to 1.3 cm long. Along with other types of jumping spiders, it is not able to build a web, therefore, to catch prey, it attaches a silk thread to some kind of support and then jumps from such a kind of “bungee” to its prey ;
- the ant jumping spider perfectly imitates the appearance of an ant and is most often found in tropical zones from Africa to central Australia. Body coloration can vary from black to yellowish.
The most interesting is the royal species of the jumping spider. This is the largest representative of the jumping spiders in North America. Males have a body length of 1.27 cm, and the length of the female can reach 1.52 cm.
It is interesting! The body of the male has a black coloration and a characteristic pattern represented by white spots and stripes. The body coloration of the female is most often represented by grayish and orange hues.
Horse spider food
Jumping spiders hunt exclusively during the day, which is facilitated by phenomenal vision and an internal hydraulic system, represented by limbs that change in size. Thanks to this structural feature, an adult horse spider is able to overcome impressive distances in a jump. On the limbs are small hairs and claws, making it easy to move even on a horizontal glass surface.
A safety net for jumping long distances is a silk thread, which is also used in the construction of a masonry nest. In the process of hunting, the spider lies in wait for prey and catches it in a jump, therefore the word "horse" is present in the name of the species. In food, jumping spiders are completely unpretentious and any, but not too large insects are used for food.
Reproduction of the jumping spider
A characteristic difference between males and females is the coloration of the front pair of limbs. This pair has stripes. Almost all species of horse spider have a kind of mating ceremony, but to attract the attention of a female, all males perform a special mating dance, during which they raise their forelimbs and, observing a clear periodicity, lightly hit themselves all over the body.
Immediately after mating, the little spiders that have appeared are completely left to the care of the female, who builds a silk nest for them from a thread. After laying, the females guard their nests until the babies appear. The spider, which has gone through several phased molts, catches up with the adult in size, therefore it acquires independence and begins to take care of itself.
Significance in the ecosystem
Spiders of this species mainly feed on female mosquitoes that have drunk blood. Thanks to their keen sense of smell, jumping spiders easily determine the location of such an insect. The time of a spider's attack on the victim, as a rule, does not exceed a hundredth of a second. The main part of the nutrition of the vampire spider is represented by malarial mosquitoes, so their importance in nature is difficult to underestimate.
It is interesting! The species encountered on the territory of our country prey on many garden and garden pests, therefore, help the owners of personal plots to keep their garden plantings and garden crops intact throughout the warm season.
Human danger
Jumping spiders are absolutely not dangerous to humans, so you can take them with your bare hands, but only very carefully and carefully so as not to harm the spider. Harmless to animals and humans, this type of spider is not due to the absence of poison, but because the dense skin of a person does not receive damage as a result of a bite.
Several major groups of arachnids are excellent for home keeping, including the jumping spider, orb weaving spider, and wolf spider. Most often, ant jumping spiders are chosen as a pet. Incredible external resemblance to weaver ants, known sharp teeth and aggression, allows jumping spiders to avoid the dangers that may lie in wait for them in vivo a habitat.
The homeland of the ant horse spider is represented by the countries of Southeast Asia, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam, so this pet should be provided with container maintenance and an optimal microclimate with a comfortable temperature and humidity.
Feeding rules
The main food of spiders in natural conditions are live insects of a suitable size.. Experienced owners of such unusual pets are advised to use crickets or Drosophila crushed to a dusty state to feed the horse spider. Plant black and green aphids can be used to feed some species. In the process of feeding, the feeding area must be provided with high-quality artificial lighting with fluorescent lamps.
The jumping spider is considered one of the most intelligent representatives of arthropods, due to the size of the brain. It is quite difficult to buy such a spider in our country, but it is quite possible from lovers of exotic arthropods who breed them at home. The average cost of an adult varies depending on the species, but, most often, does not exceed a couple of thousand rubles.
There are small insects in almost any apartment, even the cleanest and most tidy. These "neighbors" are not always harmful and dangerous, sometimes they are so few that they are not visible at all, but practice shows that one or another representative of this entomofauna can be found in almost any residential area.
On a note
It is interesting to note that the smallest insects in an apartment can significantly exceed the same cockroaches in the number of individuals, but at the same time, due to their small size, do not attract attention.
Therefore, if you regularly meet “incomprehensible” small insects in your apartment, you should not neglect this fact. At least ask yourself: what do they eat, where do they hide, how fast do they reproduce...
At the same time, the same ants are recognizable by everyone, and it makes no sense to help the reader separately in identifying them. Therefore, we will focus on those small insects that not everyone knows.
Silverfish: harmless extras
Some scientists consider silverfish to be the most ancient insects that exist today on the planet. They have changed little over many millions of years of evolution and very much resemble the ancestors of all modern insects.
In the photo - sugar silverfish:
And here is home thermobia:
Silverfish feed on various organic residues that are found in dust and crevices; they can eat paper, bread and sugar crumbs. They do not cause harm, and to get rid of them, it is enough to destroy the individuals seen on the walls.
small beetle species
Small domestic beetles include kozheedy, grinders, hrushchaks. They damage various products, can eat paper and spoil books. Kozheedy also damage fur coats and woolen clothes.
In the photo - a bread grinder, one of the smallest insects in the apartment:
This beetle reaches 1.5 mm in length and does not feed as an adult, although it makes moves in many products, damaging them. But its larva feeds on almost everything, including paper and fibers of semi-synthetic clothing.
Bread damaged by grinder larvae becomes poisonous to humans. You can't eat it!
Very small insects, also often found in an apartment, are leather beetles that can make holes in fur coats and furs, “cut” carpets and eat the bindings of old books:
All of the above small beetles can be quite difficult to get out of the apartment. If their larvae are wound up in products, all stocks must be thrown away, and bedside tables and shelves should be treated with insecticidal agents. In cabinets and on bookshelves, things and objects are treated with aerosol insecticides, and then it is useful to place moth sections here, which are quite effective against beetles.
Fleas
The photo below shows an adult book louse (book louse):
These insects rarely form large colonies. Even a small group of them makes distinctly audible ticking sounds, thereby betraying their presence.
Fight book lice by hanging fumigants near shelves with books and zoological or botanical collections.
Springtails - enemies of house plants
The springtail is a small white insect that settles in the ground in flower pots in an apartment and feeds on organic matter. At mass reproduction springtails can severely damage plant roots.
“I don’t understand what kind of attack this is in flower pots. Some insects are white, tiny, but there are so many of them that the ground is not visible. I transplanted violets and found that they are in all pots. Tell me, what kind of insects are they dangerous?
Tamara, Moscow
The photo shows a springtail at high magnification:
And below is a lump of earth taken out of a pot, infected with springtails:
These insects can be poisoned by conventional means against garden pests - Aktara or Karbofos. You can also lay out pieces of potatoes on the surface of the earth and collect insects on it every few days.
whiteflies
Whiteflies are also plant pests, which, unlike springtails, infect leaves and stems. These insects are easily recognized by their light wings.
In the photo - tobacco whitefly:
And here is the cabbage whitefly:
If these small insects appeared in the apartment, the plants should immediately be treated with alcohol infusion of calendula.
Whiteflies reproduce very quickly and suck plant sap at all stages of development. A large number of them can cause the death of the bush. In case of mass infection, they should be poisoned with Karbofos or Aktara.
Butterflies
These small insects with transparent wings in the apartment usually appear in the bathroom or toilet. Butterflies are small flies with dark fringed wings. They are well recognizable due to the special shape of the wings.
The photo shows an ordinary butterfly (Psychodidae):
Butterfly larvae develop in garbage, in basements and sewers, and adult flies can scatter throughout apartments, laying eggs in bins and dust in closets.
Sometimes in the apartment you can see very small insects, remotely similar to cockroaches or bedbugs. It could be their larvae early age(nymphs), sometimes having a translucent chitinous cover.
The photo shows a recently molted red cockroach, which looks almost white immediately after molting:
This is what a bed bug larva looks like:
Such larvae can penetrate from neighboring apartments through ventilation ducts or through doors, settling or running away from persecution. If such insects are found in single specimens, it is quite simple to destroy them. In case of mass infection of the premises, they are found as often as adult insects, in this case, a thorough disinsection of the entire premises should be carried out.
A good example of how small insects in an apartment can seriously spoil life
How to choose a pest control service
Ecology
Attention! If you are afraid of spiders, you may not want to read this list, but in this case fear not, as you will find that these creatures are more amazing than creepy.
Spiders never cease to amaze, they are the most widespread predators in the world, moreover, they adapt to almost every conceivable and unthinkable habitat, with the exception of the sea, which has led to the emergence of countless species, many of which remain unknown to science.
10 Crab Spiders
This spider has one of the most effective camouflage of any animal, its body covered in warts that resemble bird excrement. Often these warts produce small white particles that coat the spider's body and resemble bird droppings. And no matter how surprising it is, it even smells appropriate.
This camouflage has the dual function of making the spider look like unappetizing prey to most animals (particularly the birds themselves) and also serving as bait for small insects that prefer feces, which are its favorite prey. These spiders are native to Asia and can be found in Indonesia, Japan and other countries.
9. Spider - whip
The spider lives in Australia, its long and thin body looks like a snake, hence the name of the species colubrinus, which means "snake". Its unusual appearance, again, is an example of camouflage. Being like a small stick caught in a web, it eludes the attention of most predators and gets their prey more easily.
The whip spider belongs to the same family as dangerous spiders black widows. It is not known how potent the venom actually is in this spider, but it is generally spoken of as being very harmless due to its docile nature and short fangs.
8. Spider with a scorpion tail
The spider is named so because of the unusual belly of the female, which ends in a "tail" similar to scorpions. When the spider feels threatened, it twists its tail in an arch, which resembles a scorpion. Only females have such a tail, males look like ordinary spiders, while they are much smaller in size.
These creatures live in Australia, and they are absolutely harmless. They often live in colonies, although each female spider builds her own webs and does not risk claiming other females' territories.
7. Bagheera Kipling
This spider was named after Bagheera, the black panther in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli. It would seem that the spider got its name because of the agility of the panther, which is characteristic of almost all jumping spiders. However, at a time when almost all known spiders are "predatory jumpers", Bagheera is almost a complete vegetarian, as she feeds exclusively on acacia buds and nectar.
She uses her dexterity only to protect herself from aggressive ants that protect the acacia from other animals. Sometimes Bagheera feeds on ant larvae, and sometimes, when very hungry, he can also eat another of his own kind. Oddly enough, the Jungle Book describes the moment when Bagheera says that during a period of food shortages, she hopes to become a vegetarian.
6. Spider is a killer
Found in Madagascar and parts of Africa and Australia, these bizarre predators' long necks are designed to support their heavy jaws. They feed exclusively on other spiders, hence their name.
Despite their formidable appearance and name, they are completely harmless to humans. It is interesting to note that these spiders have been living on earth since the time of the dinosaurs. Perhaps this is the reason why their appearance is so alien to us.
5. Water spider
It is the only fully aquatic spider in the world. It can be found in a wide variety of parts of the world, from Europe to Asia, from Great Britain to Siberia, they live in ponds, slow moving streams of water and shallow lakes. Since it cannot take oxygen directly from the water, the spider constructs a bubble with silk, fills it with the air that it carries in itself (it captures the air bubbles with hairs that cover its entire body and limbs).
After the bubble is formed, it becomes bell-shaped and shines with silver, hence its name (Argyroneta means "pure silver"). The spider spends most of its time inside its bell and only comes out to replenish its supply of oxygen. This spider feeds on aquatic invertebrates, including water striders and a variety of larvae, and also hunts tadpoles and sometimes small fish.
4. Horned spider
Horned spiders are a genus that includes 70 known species, many of which are yet to be discovered. They are found all over the world and are completely harmless, despite their scary appearance, horns and spikes, which are a deterrent to birds.
These spiders are also known for having small silk "flags" that cover the edges of their bodies. These flags make the spider's web more visible to smaller birds, which keeps them out of the way. Often they can be found in gardens and near houses.
3 Peacock Spider
Another Australian look. It got its name because of the bright coloring of the tummies of males. Just like a peacock, the male "raises" this flap like a colorful fan and uses it to attract the attention of the female, who has very sharp eyesight, like most jumping spiders. What's more, the spider stands up on its hind legs and starts jumping up and down for a more dramatic effect. Another similarity with the peacock is that male spiders often court several females at the same time.
Until recently, it was believed that the male peacock spider can "slide" through the air, but now it turned out that during jumps he spreads colorful flaps that increase his amplitude when jumping, which makes it seem like he is flying. Today, scientists understand that flap flaps are being used for demonstration purposes, but that doesn't make the spider any less amazing.
2. Ant spider - jumper
This spider is an incredible example of mimicry when creature deters potential predators by disguising itself as more dangerous creature another kind. In this case we are talking about a spider that looks like a weaver ant whose bite is very painful, moreover, it produces two chemicals that aggravate the pain of the bite. These ants are very aggressive, and the consequences of their bite will accompany you for several days after the trouble has happened. Many birds, reptiles and amphibians try to avoid these ants.
On the other hand, this spider is absolutely harmless, but its appearance is terrifying to those animals that are familiar with the ant, because its head and chest, as well as two black spots on it, imitating the eyes of an ant, are extremely similar to this insect. Its forelimbs mimic the "antennae" of an ant, so the spider looks like it only has six legs, just like the actual ant.
This species of spider can only be found in India, China and Southeast Asia, but it is not the only living creature that imitates ants, many other species live in the tropics and represent various individuals of aggressive ants.
1. Spider with a happy face
No kidding. This is a real animal, closely related to the Black Widow spider, which can be found in tropical forests islands of Hawaii. So far, there has been no information that it can be dangerous to humans.
The strange patterns on the yellow belly of the spider often take the form of a smiling face, although the markings are less obvious or even absent in some individuals. In some spiders of this species, the markings sometimes resemble a frown or even a screaming face.
While it's not the only spider with facial markings, it's certainly the most interesting. Unfortunately, this spider is endangered due to its limited range and due to reduction natural environment a habitat.
Do you think it's an ant? Look again carefully! Kind of like a tailor ant. And to be more precise, one of the ecophylls living in India and China. However, let's take a closer look. Six legs, big antennae big eyes, a body consisting of three segments, large pincers.
Like everything, but not really. This creature only pretends to be an ant.
Firstly, two antennae are not antennae at all, but front legs, constantly raised up. So another pair of legs. Ants only have three pairs of legs.
Well, let's leave the antennae legs alone for now and look at the big eyes. There is something wrong with them too. Oh, yes, there are 8 of them actually. Eight legs, eight eyes! So this is not an ant at all, but a jumping spider of the species Myrmarachne plataleoides. But how he still looks like a weaver ant! A very good imitation, given that spiders have only two body segments - the cephalothorax and abdomen. To simulate three segments, there is a constriction on the spider's cephalothorax, which creates a false chest and head, and the abdomen is compressed in such a way as to create the appearance thin waist like a weaver ant. And that's not all the tricks that the jumping spider imitating an ant uses.
It only looks like a female jumping spider. This species has pronounced sexual dimorphism: females are smaller (6-7 mm) and very much resemble tailor ants, males are larger (9-12 mm, chelicerae make up a third of the length) and look like two insects at once. This is how you look from above at worker ants carrying each other and you won’t immediately guess that this is just one jumping spider.
And, most interestingly, this is not an isolated case. There is a whole genus of araneomorphic spiders in the jumping spider family (Salticidae) that mimic ants. Myrmicomorphy is actually used quite often, not only in various families of spiders, but also in mites, beetles and other insects.
So why does a spider pretend to be an ant?
Ants are quite popular as insect mimics, as some species are very aggressive or have an unpleasant taste, which means that predators try to avoid such prey. Some species feed on ants, and this disguise also helps to hunt. Many mimic spiders are real performers. This species even tries to move like an ant on six limbs, constantly lifting up the front pair of legs, as if they were antennas.
Ant species such as solenopsis (Solenopsis geminata, Solenopsis sp), plagiolepis (Anoplolepis gracilipes (Plagiolepis longipes), Plagiolepis sp.) and ecophylls (Oecophylla longinoda, Oecophylla smaragdina) serve as models for imitation.
