The BugLady was moseying around her cottage, photographing doodlebug digs, when she spotted this very small (maybe ¼”) jumping spider with its prey.��It was on a sunny, south-facing wall – right where it was supposed to be!

Zebra spiders, aka Zebra jumpers (Salticus scenicus) are in the family Salticidae, the Jumping spiders.��Salticus is Latin for “dancing,” and scenicus is Greek for “theatrical” or “of a decorative place,” and refers to the spider’s flashy colors, which can look iridescent in the right light.��Thanks to BugFan Mike, as always, for the ID.  

We’re on a roll here, having recently introduced the non-native Clover weevil and the (probably) non-native American Copper butterfly.��The Zebra spider’s original range included Europe and western Asia.��It was first collected in North America (in Illinois) in 1933, and now it occupies most of the northern two-thirds of North America. It’s an urban spider that loves the sun-warmed sides of buildings, but it’s also found away from human habitation, on bare rocks.

There’s some variation in pattern and color, and spiders that live in polluted urban areas may be all black.��.��Males have large, black jaws called . Like all jumping spiders, Zebra spiders have  – jumping spiders have fan clubs and Facebook pages, largely because of the size and arrangement of their eyes.��

Jumping spiders have eight eyes, four facing forward and four facing upwards – they have depth perception, can judge distances, and can see in color.��Research suggests that when the lateral eyes on each side of those big median eyes pick up motion, they tell the median eyes where to look.��The four eyes on top of the head (cephalothorax) sense movement (helpful for dodging predators) and light.��

Zebra spiders don’t spin for their supper, they jump (and they can jump as far as four inches). They stalk their prey brazenly by creeping directly at it, but if their prey is much larger than they are, they sneak up from behind.��Either way, they attach a silken drag line to the substrate as they leap, in case they miss or in case they and their prey tumble over the edge. They bite, subdue, and eat their prey on the spot – they don’t wrap and store it because they have no web to store it in.����

What do they eat? Various kinds of , including mosquitoes, are favorites, but they go after insects that are much larger than they are [,].��They find ants distasteful, but they will eat their fellow .����

Females attract wandering males with pheromones, and courtship is visual – males dance, and the best dancers win. Faint heart ne’er won fair maid.��He waves his front legs and chelicerae and displays his patterned abdomen (so that she doesn’t think he’s prey).��If she’s impressed (and scientists don’t know exactly which moves will light her fire), she’ll crouch and let him approach.��Sometimes males mistakenly display in front of other males, which results in ritualized battles that are won by the most aggressive fighter.

She produces a silken sac that holds 15 to 20 eggs and hides it under leaves or debris, and she . The spiderlings stay with her until after their second molt, and then they disperse. They overwinter as almost-mature spiders and may live for a year or two.��

Fun Facts about Zebra Spiders:

1)    Their jumps are driven not by muscles, but by hydraulic pressure – the spider increases the pressure of its haemolymph (blood), and that causes the 4^th set of legs to straighten, which propels it off the ground.��The fact that the spines on a spider’s leg stand up as its legs straighten is considered proof of that explanation.

2)    Zebra and other jumping spiders can abseil/rappel down walls and rock faces.

3)    Cushions of hairs on the bottoms of their feet have adhesive qualities and allow them to walk on smooth, vertical surfaces. 

4)    Zebra jumpers operate during the day, and they retreat into silk shelters spun in crevices and under leaves and bark by night. 

5)    Vibrations (like buzzing wings) help Jumping spiders recognize their prey.

6)    If a Zebra spider accidentally comes inside, it might take up residence in the corner of a window.��No – it can’t bite us – not even a little bit.

The BugLady

The post Zebra Jumping Spider appeared first on Field Station.

First off, today’s vocabulary word is “microlep” (short for “microlepidoptera”). What’s a microlep? The (somewhat squishy) term applies to moths with a wingspan under 20mm (about ¾”). It’s not a taxonomic or a lifestyle designation – there are microleps across a bunch of different moth families, and they make their livings in a variety of ways – it’s strictly about size.��

Rosinweed moths (Tebenna silphiella) (what a little gem!) are a not-well-studied species in a not-well-studied genus in a not-well-studied family, Choreutidae, the Metalmark Moths, a group that (of course) needs revision and that historically has been bounced around, taxonomically. And, the website  tells us that “The large Tebenna spp., including T. silphiella, represent an array in which species delineations appear to be unresolved.” Most family members have wingspans under a half-inch, but those wings may be decorated with spots made of silvery/metallic scales , . Choreutis comes from a Greek word meaning “dancer” – the moths fly by day, and the “dancing” refers to the jerky movements they often make with their bodies and wings as they move around on flowers.  

Choreutid caterpillars skeletonize the undersides of leaves in groups, immediately after hatching, and solo, as they get older. Many species spin a loose web over themselves, and their frass collects in this net (remember – they’re under the leaf).��About caterpillars in the related genus Brenthia (a mostly Asian and African genus), researcher Jadranka Rota says “Larvae of all four Brenthia species that I have observed chew a roughly circular ‘escape hatch’ – a wormhole – somewhere in their feeding shelter. When resting, they sit with their head next to the hole. If disturbed, larvae dash through the wormhole to the other side of the leaf…… After a little while, they wriggle through the opening backwards to their original position.” Another researcher hypothesizes that the caterpillars receive sensory clues via the webbing.��

Some Metalmark moths have a Superpower – more about that in a sec.

As the name suggests, the host plant of Rosinweed moths is Rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium), a prairie plant with stiff, . They ; scroll down for a picture of caterpillars feeding.��

Bugguide.net lists the range of Rosinweed moths as the prairies and meadows of the Central US – Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Kentucky, and other sources add Colorado. There are two generations per year.��

OK – the Superpower.

In many parts of the family’s worldwide range, their top predators are the jumping spiders that hang out on the leaves with them. What’s a moth to do? Answer – If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.��

Jumping spiders hone in on a wide variety of prey, large and small, and they’re not shy about eating other jumping spiders, no matter the size, so mimicking a jumping spider certainly isn’t a Get Out of Jail Free card. But it turns out that the spots and stripes on the wings of many Metalmark moths resemble a jumping spider (if you squint), and the moth’s posture, displays, and movements reinforce that. In experiments, Brentia moths survived being caged with jumping spiders more often than similarly-sized, non-Choreutid moths did (unless researchers painted over the eyespots on their wings).��Often, the jumping spiders (even with their great eyesight) would respond to the moth’s antics with the kinds of leg-waving territorial displays that they reserve for other jumping spiders of the same species.��If the moth was bigger than the spider, the spider may even have been intimidated by the moth.��

Here’s an  and a .

Researchers also suspect that looking like a jumping spider discourages some of the spiders’ predators from going after the moths. Some species hide by camouflage or by mimicking species that are aggressive or toxic. Metalmark moths confuse the spider with an uncommon, “In your face” strategy called “predator mimicry,” but it turns out that jumping spider mimicry is also in the playbooks of a few small flies and planthoppers, which suggests that the spiders are driving the evolution of their prey.

.

The BugLady

The post Rosinweed Moth appeared first on Field Station.

Here are some of the bugs that the BugLady found in June, which was, overall, a hot and wet month (7.97” of rain at the BugLady’s cottage).

Lizzard Beetle – the BugLady doesn’t know why these striking beetles are called Lizard beetles, unless it’s a nod to their long, slender shapes.��She usually sees them in the prairie on Indian Plantain plants.��The adults eat various parts of the plant, including pollen, while their larvae feed within the plant stems (the Clover stem borer is persona non grata in commercial clover fields).��

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, many species of Lizard beetles “make squeaking sounds using well-developed stridulatory organs on top of the head.”

Two (counterintuitively-named) Orange Bluets, ensuring the next generation.��He “contact guards” her as she oviposits in submerged vegetation, lest a rival male come along and swipe her.��When the eggs hatch, the naiads can swim right out into the water.

Baltimore Checkerspot – the BugLady has seen more of these spectacular butterflies than usual this year.��The  feed in fall on a late-blooming wildflower called Turtlehead (and sometimes broad-leaved plantain); turtlehead leaves (and plantain, to a lesser extent) contain growth-enhancing chemicals called iridoid glycosides that also discourage birds. The caterpillars tuck in for the winter and emerge the next year into a landscape empty of Turtlehead.��

In spring, Baltimore Checkerspot caterpillars 2.0 feed on leaves of a variety of flowers and shrubs – the BugLady has seen them on goldenrod and on wood betony – and especially on leaves of the (doomed) white ash. 

Crayfish – the BugLady came across this crayfish and its companion when all three of us were negotiating a muddy trail (so many muddy trails this year!). It waved its pincers at her to make sure she was terrified.

Doodlebugs (aka antlions) got going early this year – the BugLady found more than 100 excavations (pits) at the southeast corner of her house at the end of April, and more along the path leading to the beach.��They’ve had a rough go of it – it doesn’t take much rain to ruin a pit, and it takes a day or so to repair one.����

Doodlebug watchers sometimes catch a glimpse of pincers at the bottom of a pit, or of a doodlebug tossing sand around.��The BugLady witnessed an ant going to its final reward, and found a pit with a small beetle in it, one with a box elder bug, and one with a beetle and a small jumping spider.��She will look for the adults, which look kind of like damselflies, in August.

Donacia – a  on a golden flower.

Common Spring Moth – the BugLady loves finding bugs she’s never seen before, especially when she doesn’t have to leave home to do it!! (She does get a little bewildered, though, when the “new” insect is named the “Common something” and she’s never seen it before).��The occurrence of this one should be no surprise – its caterpillars feed on Black locust leaves.��

Petrophilia Moths are dainty moths that are tied to water.��The BugLady and BugFan Joan spotted mobs of moths on milkweed (yes, there’s a milkweed under there) on the bank of the Milwaukee River.�� “Petrophila” means “rock lover” – for that story, read the BOTW about a (probably) different species.  

Green Lacewing Eggs – the BugLady wrote about Green lacewings and their eggs a few months ago, and she recently found this amazing bunch of tiny, glistening eggs.��She has always associated Green lacewings with the end of summer.��Guess not.

Eight-Spotted Forester Moths are small, spiffy, day-flying moths that are often mistaken for butterflies.�� The one that the BugLady found recently was not as gaudy as most – most have brilliant .��There’s a saying among Lepidopterists – the plainer the caterpillar, the more spectacular the adult.��.��

Powdered Dancers oviposit at this time of year in the slightly-submerged stems of aquatic vegetation, especially .��They’ve been pictured here before.��This year, the river is running high and fast – there are no mats of Potamogeton leaves with Ebony Jewelwings, American Rubyspots, Stream Bluets, and Powdered Dancers flickering above them.��Do they have a Plan B?

These two Brilliant Jumping Spiders (aka Red & Black jumping spiders), a male and a female, were perched a respectful distance from each other on the prairie.��Jumping spiders, as their name suggests, jump, and depending on species, can cover from 10 to 50 times their body length.��They don’t spin trap webs, but they do spin a drag line while jumping to guard against mishaps.��They hunt by day.

The great MObugs website (Missouri’s Majority) says that “By late July or August mating is on their mind. Males begin to compete with other males for the right to mate with nearby females. Larger males typically win these competitions which include loud vibrations and some unique footwork. Males choose the larger females to mate with as they produce the most eggs.” She will place her egg sac in a silken nest in a leaf shelter and guard it, dying shortly after the spiderlings emerge from the sac.

Zelus Luridus (aka the Pale green assassin bug) is the BugLady’s favorite Assassin bug.��They mostly wait patiently for their prey to wander by, but when it does, they reveal their super power. Glands on their legs produce a sticky resin that they smear over the hairs on their legs. When they grab their prey, it stays grabbed.��

They make  (nice series of shots) – the BugLady has found them on the undersides of leaves, and the are pretty cool, too.

Although “lurid” now means shocking, vivid, or overly bright, it originally meant ghastly, horrifying, pale, sallow, or sickly yellow – its meaning began to change in the 1700’s.  

There – all caught up! 

Go outside – look at bugs!

The BugLady

(Just before this episode was launched,  was inexplicably offline – if it still is, check the links later)

The post Stirrings of Summer appeared first on Field Station.