zebra spider
salticus scenicus latin

Zebra spiders are often noted for their awareness of humans.

The zebra spider, Salticus scenicus, is a common jumping spider.

The zebra spider's jump is almost entirely due to the sudden straightening of the fourth pair of legs.

Zebra spiders tend to hunt insects or spiders of roughly their own size or smaller.

The zebra spider's stalk velocity declines progressively as it nears its (stationary) prey.

Salticus species are typically marked with a black and white pattern, with some featuring transverse stripes, often gaining them the popular name "zebra spiders".

Zebra spider Salticus scenicus (Clerck)

Zebra spiders are widespread across Britain, Europe, and North America, and are found throughout the Holarctic.

In an independent study, Monica Mather and Bernard Roitberg, biologists at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, discovered an almost identical example of mimicry involving snowberry flies, Rhagoletis zephyria, and another species of jumping spiders known as zebra spiders.