Phidippus californicus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Phidippus californicus |
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The Phidippus californicus is a type of jumping spider. You can find it in the southwestern United States. This includes states like California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, and Utah. It also lives in northern Mexico, specifically in the Baja California peninsula and Sonora.
Habitat
Phidippus californicus spiders live in the Great Basin Desert. They like areas with sagebrush plants. These large jumping spiders are often found on bushes. Some of these bushes include sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus), and Four-winged Saltbrush (Atriplex canescens).
These spiders prefer bushes that grow on hillsides. These hillsides usually have thin, rocky soil. They tend to stay away from pine trees and wet places. In the same areas, you might also find two other types of Phidippus spiders. These are P. apacheanus and P. octopunctatus.
Description
Female Phidippus californicus spiders can grow up to 12 millimeters long. Males are a bit smaller, from 7 to 11 millimeters long. Both male and female spiders have shiny blue-green chelicerae. These are the parts near their mouths. Their heads and chests (called the cephalothorax) and their legs are black. Their bellies (called the abdomen) are bright red. They often have a black stripe down the middle of their red abdomen.
Sometimes, the red color can look more orange. Very old spiders might even turn yellow. The markings on their bellies can also change. The stripes and spots might be a lighter red. The black stripe might be very small, making the abdomen look completely red. Both male and female P. californicus spiders have similar colors. This is also true for P. apacheanus. Usually, male Phidippus spiders have brighter colors than females.
These spiders are very interesting because they mimic "velvet ants." These are actually a type of wasp called Mutillidae. Several kinds of these wasps look similar in size and color to the spider. They also have a very painful sting. By looking like these wasps, the spiders might scare away predators.
Young spiders, called spiderlings, change their look as they grow. When they are very young, their heads and legs are brownish-gray. Their bellies are red with black stripes and white dots. As they get older, their red color becomes very bright. Before they become adults, their chelicerae also become shiny.
Behavior
Phidippus californicus spiders are active from mid-morning until it gets dark. You can often see them running along branches of bushes. They also like to sit still near the tips of branches. When they run, they stop often. They turn their heads from side to side, looking around.
These spiders build a special home called a retreat. It's a flat tube made of silk. They attach it to twigs or leaves with silk threads. When they need to molt (shed their skin) or lay eggs, they build similar nests. These nests use a lot more silk. They are often found under stones at the bottom of the bush.
Courtship
When a male spider meets a female who is ready to mate, they perform a courtship dance. This dance usually takes about 30 to 60 seconds before they mate. The male's dance is similar to other Phidippus species. He lifts his head and chest very high. He moves his abdomen to one side and raises his front pair of legs.
In this position, he moves in front of the female. He stops after a few steps. The male moves in a zig-zag pattern. He shifts his abdomen to the other side at the end of each zig-zag move. While dancing, the male flicks his front legs up and down. He holds them wide apart at first. Then he brings them closer together as he gets nearer to the female.
Raising their front legs and holding their abdomen to one side is not just for courtship. Spiders do this when anything gets too close to them. This could be other spiders, large prey like houseflies, or even a finger or pencil. In these cases, the spider will back away while facing the object. If the object gets too close, the spider will turn and run away.
Female P. californicus and P. apacheanus spiders do something special. They perform an "acceptance dance" just before the male touches them. The female lifts her front legs high and wide apart. She bends her abdomen to the side. Then she sways in front of the male. Sometimes she takes a few steps from side to side. In other Phidippus species, the female just stops pushing the male away when she is ready to accept him.
Hunting
These spiders usually hunt prey that is moving. If the prey stops moving, the spider might stop hunting. When chasing prey, the spider moves quickly at first. It slows down as it gets closer. When it's about 5 centimeters away, it crouches low to the ground. It pulls its legs in close to its body.
At about 1.5 centimeters away, it stops moving in this crouched position. It then attaches a safety silk thread to the ground. Finally, it jumps onto its prey. If the prey is large, the spider might take a curved path. This helps it jump on the prey from behind.
Young male spiders need about 30 minutes to eat a fruit fly. Spiders that are 1 centimeter long need less than 9 minutes. Even large adult females need almost an hour to eat a house fly. The hungrier a spider is, the longer it takes for them to digest their food. If they are very hungry, they will catch more than one prey at a time if it comes close. Spiders that are full will just extend their front legs towards prey.
Reproduction
Adult male spiders can be found from early April to July. Females are found from early May to July. A female spider will lay two to three groups of eggs. Each group, called a batch, will have fewer eggs than the one before it.
About 40 spiderlings hatch from the first batch of eggs. About 30 hatch from the second batch. Few, if any, hatch from the third batch. The spiderlings hatch after about three weeks. They stay inside the nest until they molt for the first time. This happens a little more than two weeks later. After this first molt, they are able to take care of themselves.
See also
In Spanish: Phidippus californicus para niños
