Female Zebra Jumping Spider (Salticus scenicus)
Zebra Jumping Spider (Salticus scenicus)
The Zebra Jumping Spider is a common jumping spider found across the UK, often in urban and suburban areas. They can also been found on heathland and farmland sites too. They are often seen sunning themselves on walls, rocks, tree-trunks or fences. Jumping Spiders do not make webs. Instead they jump onto their prey with great accuracy and quickly inflict a lethal venomous bite to their unsuspecting victims. They are reported to jump up to 10cm, but I have observed one jumping almost twice that distance in a downward direction landing directly on a fly which was killed instantly with an immediate bite.
Jumping Spiders have four pairs of eyes, two of which are front facing. One pair of the front facing eyes are extremely large. These huge front-facing eyes are used for gathering a detailed image enabling the spider to identify potential prey and judging distance when jumping onto their prey. Before the spider jumps it attaches a web line which it can use to enable it to return to the same spot again. Zebra Jumping Spiders are small with a maximum body-length of 5-7mm. They are stocky in build with short, thick legs. If you approach a Zebra Jumping Spider, it will often lift its head and follow your movements closely with its big eyes. British Arachnological Society Factsheet
Male Zebra Jumping Spider (Salticus scenicus)
Males can be distinguished from females by the possession of huge jaws which they use for wrestling with each other to compete for mating rights to a female.
Adult female 5mm Downy Jumper (Sittipub / Sitticus pubescens)
Downy Jumper (Sittipub / Sitticus pubescens)
Another widespread and common jumping spider found across England, usually in residential areas around human habitation. They have an average body-length of 4-6mm. Adult females can be found throughout the year but adult males are found from March to October. Both sexes peak around May to June. In areas away from humans this species can on occasion be found on tree trunks and rocks. Inside of houses it is usually the Cellar Spider / Daddy-Long-Legs Spider (Pholcus phalangioides) that is the top of its food-chain feeding on other insects as well as other spiders. But the Downy Jumper has been observed and photographed killing and feeding on Cellar Spiders. The capability of making a surprise jumping attack from a distance gives the Jumping Spider a great advantage over this known spider-hunter.
4mm male Downy Jumper - (Sitticus pubescens) found on my garden fence in May.
Female Common Sun-Jumper (Heliophanus cf flavipes)
Common Sun-Jumper (Heliophanus flavipes)
A small Jumping Spider with a typical body-length of around 5mm, and sometimes up to 7mm. The palps and legs are a lemon-yellow colour contrasting against the dark body. This species is usually found on shrubs and other low / medium height vegetation or low branches of trees, with a preference to sunny spots. There are 4 species of Sun Jumper found in the UK, but telling Heliophanus sp. apart is very difficult.
3mm male Oak Jumper (Ballus chalybeius) found in my garden in SE London / North Kent
Oak Jumper (Ballus chalybeius)
A small Jumping Spider with a maximum body-length of around 4.5 - 5.5mm for females and 3 - 4mm for males. The body is usually dark brown and fairly flat, and the legs are light brown / orange. Light brown specimens do also occur. Found mostly in the SE of England but scattered sightings are recorded across England and Wales. Favours woodland habitat especially Oak. It spins a silky retreat on the upper side of bushes and small trees.
7mm female Macaroeris nidicolens found in my garden 19th April 2019
Mile End Jumping Spider (Macaroeris nidicolens)
This Mediterranean Jumping Spider is fairly new to the UK and was first recorded back in 2002 at Mile End Park, Tower Hamlets in East London, hence the common name of Mile End Jumping Spider, and occasionally referred to as the Tower Hamlets Jumping Spider. It was first recorded in Essex at Thurrock in 2006. By 2019 it had been recorded at various sites in the SE of England including one record from Greenwich and a couple from Dartford. This adult female specimen was photographed in my garden in Bexleyheath, Kent / SE London in April 2019. They've also been found on Pine Trees, Gorse, Privet and Hawthorn at other locations in the SE. There is no doubt that the Mile End Jumping Spider is spreading and as of 2020 this species has been recorded at 15 sites around London and one on the South Coast. This spider has a typical body-length of around 5 - 7mm for females and 4 - 6mm for males.
3mm adult male Ant-Mimic Jumping Spider (Synageles venator) found on another UPVC front door in SE London / North Kent.
This second specimen was a male and was found about 500m from the first, wandering on the front of another home September 19th 2019. Whilst in my care it readily fed on a small fruit fly I offered it.
This spider was the most frustrating specimen that I have ever tried to photograph. It took me 4 hours of continuous shooting to capture these shots. I took around 1000 photos and these were the only ones that were sharp enough to use. Much like the Black Garden Ant, that this spider mimics, it never stays still for a moment, unless it cocoons itself in a silky tent. This species not only looks like an ant but moves around like one as well.