The occurrence of dense populations of these two species around human habitations makes them of considerable beneficial importance in the control of flies, mosquitoes, and other human pests. Menemerus bivittatus also occurs in California, and both species are widely distributed in the Old World tropics. Both are found from Florida to Texas and south to Paraguay. Adults and immatures of both species are present all year, although most mating and reproduction begin in the fall and continue until spring. Both are medium-large jumping spiders, about 8 to 12 mm in length.
Both are almost exclusively associated with man-made structures, usually buildings where they may be numerous around lights at night, catching the insects attracted to the lights. Two species of jumping spiders occurring in Florida, the gray wall jumper, Menemerus bivittatus (Dufour), and the pantropical jumper, Plexippus paykulli (Audouin), have been imported by man from the tropical Old World. All jumping spiders are harmless to humans, although the larger speciesĬan give a locally painful bite if roughly handled. Jumping spiders as adults may be as small as 1 mm in length or as large as 23 mm, but Males who display this ornamentation while dancing before females to win acceptance for Many are marked with contrasting colors or bands, especially the Their sense of sight isĮxtraordinary for invertebrates they can see in color (DeVoe 1975), and the large front eyesįocus on objects (Land 1972). Jumping spiders, or salticids, are so named because they have a highly coordinated jumpingĪbility with which they capture prey and traverse from plant to plant.
Paykulli: Abbreviated Synonymy - Description - Selected References Introduction (Back to Top) (Arachnida: Araneae: Salticidae) Introduction - Menemerus bivittatus: Abbreviated Synonymy - Description - Plexippus Scientific name: Menemerus bivittatus (Dufour) and Plexippus paykulli (Audouin) Common name: jumping spiders: gray wall jumper and pantropical jumper