Nature Blogger Sam Carr tells us why Zebra Spiders are his favourite species!
The Zebra spider is my favourite of all spiders. It’s only small – body about 8mm long – but it’s extremely characterful. Playful even! Loom over one and it will usually stop to look up at you, indignant, and may jump onto your finger if offered. Or it might dance sideways, jump backwards, or the best trick of all: pounce but then bounce back to where it started from in one swift movement. They can do this, even on vertical surfaces, because they trail a silk line when jumping, so they can reel themselves back in.
These jumping spiders hunt by roaming around and pouncing on prey. You can see that two of the eyes are very large and point straightforward to give them the excellent binocular vision required for accurate attacks.
I often find them on garden table tops, or wooden shed walls in the sun, but also in the house. If you’re really lucky, a Zebra spider will make your work desk its territory and will amuse you with its comical exploits throughout the day. They’ll even chase the cursor on your screen.
