Asiatic Wall Jumping Spider

Here's an Asiatic Wall Jumping Spider. As you've noticed, my apartment doorway attracts moths and mayflies, and so it's natural to expect it to also attract predators. This predator was attracted all the way from northern/western Asia. They specialize in living near human structures and preying on arthropods that live near us.

Although they don't really belong here, I haven't read that they're considered a big threat to native species. And they're not a big threat size-wise either, being less than a half centimeter in size.

Though their web-spinning cousins are considered classic spiders, the jumping spiders are actually the largest family of spiders. There are over 6000 known species, about 13% of all the spider species. As active hunters, they're also considered to have some of the best vision among arthropods.

This spider has found some sorta mayfly for its meal. I sometimes wonder whether the mayflies I see in my doorway are alive or dead (mayflies aren't known for their long lives), but I don't think spiders are scavengers so I think the mayfly was alive. (Of course, it might have been near the end of its life; I didn't see it move.)






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