For those that ask, do jumping spiders live in California, well you might want to know that California is home to different spiders, including the jumping spider. The colors of California jumping spiders differ; tan, brown, grey with a bit of pale white, red, yellow, blue, red, or even green markings. The adult spiders are seen in this location range from 4-18mm, and their body is covered in dense hairs. Also, their scales are brightly colored. Another feature to note is their front legs, which is often thinker compared to their other legs.
So if you’re residing anywhere around San Francisco or Los Angeles, or another location in California, in this write-up, we’ll enumerate some basic facts about jumping spiders that can be regularly seen in California.
Red-Back Jumping Spider
Appearance: As stated earlier, there are different types of jumping spiders that one can encounter in California, but among all these, the red-black jumping spiders seem to be the most noticeable. This category of jumping spiders averages about 3/8 inches in length, with the female being bigger than the male.
Also, they’re typically brightly colored with thicker bodies. They’ve four pairs of eyes, which enhances their vision to 360 degrees. This means that they can correctly see more than any other animal of its size. Another fantastic feature about them is their ability to rotate their breast to an angle of 45 degrees. Their back is distinctly red with a black strip if it’s a female. Apart from these, the rest of the body is all covered in black.
You’ll often see them during the daytime because they’re day hunters, preying on small insects. Furthermore, you’ll hardly notice it spinning webs. They prefer to make a funnel sharped nest where they hide. The females also lay their eggs there.
Life Cycle – Before the red-black jumping spider start to mate, the male will first approach the female then back away. Next, the male will dance in a zigzag form. In some cases, the male will make a sound as they twitch their abdomen. In most cases, the male does not survive it after mating because the female kills them.
On the other hand, the female, in a bid to secure her nest, builds silk around her eggs, and even stay on guard until they hatch. Soon you’ll see young jumping spiders that look like a miniature version of the parent spider coming out from the egg sac
Black widow spider
The adult western black widow has a length of 5/16 inches with the shape of an hourglass. This class of jumping spiders can also be seen around California. Once you’re very careful with the black widow spider, you’ll enjoy it because it’s one of the most comfortable pets you can think of having.
They can survive for days without eating, and you don’t necessarily need a cage to care for them. However, the care given to the black widow jumping spider depends on the species. There are about five widow spider species, but the western black widow is the one popularly seen around California.
California Ebony (Black) jumping Spider.
Appearance – Just like other spiders, the California black is about 2 inches in length; their basic diet consists of grasshoppers, beetles, lizards, mice, and other insects. They’ve eight legs, two claws, eight eyes, which serves as a defensive mechanism. Their two large prominent fangs help in immobilizing their food(prey) and also digests it. The Ebony jumping spider varied in different shades of grey and black, whereas the bronze is dusky brown to practically black.
Life Cycle: To attain proper maturity, it takes the male about 7 to 10 years. Even when not eaten by the female after mating, the majority of this male still dies within 2 or 3 months. The female, on the other hand, is known to guard her eggs until they hatch. The female California black has been known to live as much as years.
In Conclusion
A collection of commonly encountered jumping spiders seen around California has been enumerated with their distinguishing features. Note that many jumping spiders in California might appear the same to the inexperienced eye – but having a jumping spider in hand with keen observation, it will be easier to identify their differences.
Furthermore, jumping spiders have the best vision when compared to any other spider species. Finally, the most familiar jumping spiders you’ll see around California are the back ones, which has several white spots on the abdomen with a bright metallic green chelicera. Apart from these, the other species that can be seen are black with an abdomen that is bright red.
Frequently asked questions
The jumping spiders in California, are they poisonous?
The truth is that jumping spiders are not in any way considered to be any danger to human beings. This is because they’re even likely to run away from people than attacking them. In as much as jumping spiders do have fangs for venom production, they’re not a medical threat in any way. Even when they bite, the jumping spider is not in any way poisonous.
Are Jumping spiders approachable?
Generally, jumping spiders are approachable and friendly to human beings. This means that they’re not harmful in any way. Despite being carnivorous by nature, these delicate little creatures tend to shy away from humans to a large extent. So, the possibility of them biting anyone is very low.
Where do jumping spiders live in California?
They can be seen in a variety of places. For instance, mountainous regions, scrubland, intertidal zones. Etc.
Should I kill a black widow jumping spider?
In as much as this type of jumping spider has venom, the fact remains that it’s for their insect (meal) and not for you. The spider is not designed to kill any human being or even used as self-defence when they come across human beings. This is the reason why fatalities as a result of black widows bite are very rare.
