Platycryptus undatus
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| "Platycryptus" undatus | ||||||||||||||
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 Female "Platycryptus" undatus
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| "Platycryptus" undatus (de Geer, 1778) |
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Aranea undata |
"Platycryptus"[1] undatus, also called tan jumping spider, is a species of jumping spider.
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[edit] Distribution
"Platycryptus" undatus occurs in North and Central America. This species is found in the Eastern States and adjacent Canada to Texas and Wisconsin[2]. Females of this species are between 10 and 13 mm in body length, and males range from 8.5 to 9.5 mm. This species of jumping spider exhibits curiosity about humans who come into its visual field. (The jumping spiders all have very good vision.) It particularly favors vertical surfaces such as fences, walls, etc. Because of its habits it is easily seen. It does not frantically flee humans and may be gently "herded" onto one's hand. Once on a human hand it may make a thorough exploration and even jump from finger to finger. These spiders are not at all inclined to bite, but even though they are rather small they are not too small to deliver a defensive bite if pinched or squeezed.
Eggs are laid and hatch during the summer, and adults and other stages overwinter in their individual silken shelters. Although the shelters are built separately and keep the spiders out of direct contact with each other, Kaston reports that as many as fifty of them may crowd their shelters for hibernation together so tightly that they form a continuous blanket under the loose bark of a standing tree.[3]
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] References
- Kaston, Benjamin Julian: How to Know the Spiders, ISBN 0-697-04898-5
- Kaston, Benjamin Julian: Spiders of Connecticut, Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey, Bulletin 70, revised edition.
- Platnick, Norman I. (2008): The world spider catalog, version 8.5. American Museum of Natural History.
[edit] External links
- Picture of "P." undatus (free for noncommercial use)
- Good information on spiders' lifestyles from the University of Kansas.
