Zebra Jumping Spider

Fascinating facts about the Zebra Jumping Spider

• The zebra jumping spider is capable of taking prey that is up to three times its own length, such as the smaller species of moth that it has been observed tackling. Its powerful jump, driven by the sudden straightening of the fourth pair of legs, lets it close the distance quickly enough to seize such large targets. After capture it uses its sharp eyesight to accurately judge the distance and pounce, a hunting style described as cat-like.
• Zebra spiders have been seen feeding on mosquitoes that are almost twice their own length, demonstrating their capacity to subdue prey larger than themselves. They locate such prey with their large anterior median eyes and then move slowly forward until they are close enough to pounce, a behaviour likened to a cat stalking its victim. The spider's jump, reaching velocities of 0.64-0.79 m/s, provides the burst needed to capture the elongated insect.
• Before leaping, the zebra spider secures a silk thread to the surface it is about to leave, giving it a safety line to climb back if the jump misses its target. The spider can also use this silk to descend safely and has been documented abseiling from ceilings.
• The zebra jumping spider propels itself without the usual extensor muscles at its leg joints; instead, haemocoelic blood pressure forces the joints to extend. This hydraulic action is evident when the leg spines stand erect during a leap, a direct result of the sudden increase in body pressure. The jump is generated almost entirely by the rapid straightening of the fourth pair of legs, allowing the spider to reach speeds between 0.64 and 0.79 m s⁻¹.
• A zebra spider will only turn its body toward a potential target when the object subtends a visual angle greater than 5.5°, a cue detected by its lateral eyes. This response is triggered solely by moving objects, while the speed of the prey does not affect the initial detection distance.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Zebra Jumping Spider

In a flash of iridescent blue and green, the zebra jumping spider darts across its domain, a tiny, eight-legged monarch of the sun-drenched stone walls and weathered wood it calls home. With eyes that shine like polished onyx, it surveys its kingdom, ever vigilant for the slightest twitch of a fly's wing or the whispered promise of a succulent crumb. As it moves, its very gait seems a mesmerizing dance, a choreographed ballet of stealth and precision that belies the explosive power of its saltatory leaps.

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