Know Your Enemy
Accurate identification of pests is as important as choosing the best preventive pest management available on the market today. Preventive Pest Control has compiled a list of most common pests to help you identify the problem.
Gray Wall Jumper
(Menemerus bivittatus)
Characteristics
The gray wall jumper are dorsiventral. Their body is covered with short, thick, grayish hairs, and a cluster of dark brown stiff hairs that are present close to the large eyes.
Both the female and male have two distinct color patterns, but are closely identical in size. The mature males, which are 31/100 to 7/20 inch in length, have a longitudinal alternating black and white hue. However, the carapace is black and the abdomen has but with white lines on each side.
The mature female is 31/100 to 2/5 inch in length, and is grayer and more brown. Her carapace is larger and contains two black bands with a narrow white stripe. She has an edge abdomen with broad black stripes on each side. Spiderlings are almost the same in color as an adult female.
Habitat
These spiders take advantage of any flat, vertical surface and make it as their habitat. They can be found on the walls of any man-made structures. When in their natural environment, these spiders are found on tree trunks while they wait for their victim. They are usually active during the day, and will hide and rest during the night in crevices.
Behavior
Jumping spiders are known for their jumping skills wherein they can jump from plant to plant so that they creep and capture their prey. Although they do not build webs, these spiders can hunt their prey by leaping on them. With the use of their sharp eyes, they are able to see and even focus on large objects and prey, which allows them to stalk them easily.
Food
Their foods are commonly small flies and mosquitoes that enjoy staying in their domain, but they can still eat insects that are twice their size, such as crane flies, muscoid flies, or moths, as long as they can subdue them with their venom.
Life Cycle
Once the female gray wall jumper is ready for her eggs, she will place her egg sac in a hiding place, probably in a crevice, and will lay 25 to 40 eggs. She will guard her eggs for three weeks, until the time when the eggs are hatched and the spiderlings disperse.
Other Information and Tips
This spider is an unusual creature since it knows how to intimidate not just their prey, but people too, especially homeowners who are afraid of spiders. Unlike their other relatives, this spider is not afraid of people. They like to face those who are looking at them and can put on their defensive stance to whoever is coming near them, instead of just running away. However, this spider is not dangerous and should not be a cause for alarm.
Photo by Vaishak Kallore (Own work) [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons / resized from original
