Phidippus Jumping Spiders

Spider Resources Types of Spiders Jumping Spiders

Phidippus jumping spiders are a genus of larger sized jumping spiders found in residential areas throughout the United States.

Size and a few field marks are often sufficient for identification purposes because most species are regionally differentiated. Generally phidippus species have stripes on their legs and shades of black, red or yellow on the cephalothorax and abdomen.

The Bold Jumping Spider (Phidippus audax) pictured above, shows the green chelicerae (jaws), another good field identification mark. Actual spider size is three-quarters of an inch, much smaller than depicted in the picture.

The picture below shows one of the Phidippus with red markings such as Phidippus clarus, or Phidippus johnsonii.

Photographing Phidippus starts by setting the camera to macro mode. Getting close to the spider is sometimes problematic. They tend to scamper from an approaching lens.

© 2008. Patricia A. Michaels.