
Community identification
Jumping spider (likely a zebra spider)
Salticus scenicus (probable)
- Order & Family
- Araneae; Salticidae
- Size
- Adults are typically 5–8 mm long, with females generally larger than males.
Natural Habitat
Common on sunlit walls, fences, rocks, windows, and building surfaces, especially in temperate urban areas.
Diet & Feeding
An active visual hunter that eats small flies, mosquitoes, mites, and other tiny arthropods; it does not use a capture web.
Behavior Patterns
It stalks prey, pivots rapidly, and jumps accurately, securing itself with a silk dragline. It may retreat into a silken shelter when inactive or threatened.
Risks & Benefits
Harmless to people and not medically significant; bites are exceptionally rare and minor. It benefits ecosystems and homes by consuming nuisance insects.