ant-mimicking jumping spider
(Synemosyna formica)
| Conservation Status | IUCN Red List |
not yet assessed |
 |
||||
NatureServe |
NNR - Unranked |
||||||
Minnesota |
not listed |
||||||
| Occurrence |
|
||||||
| Season |
|
||||||
| Habitat/Host | Bushes and tall grass |
||||||
| Size | Female Body Length: 3 ⁄16″ to ¼″ Male Body Length: ⅛″ to 3 ⁄16″ |
||||||
| Photo by Terry Hayes | |||||||
| Identification | The front body part of the body (cephalothorax) has a relatively sharp downward slope between the head portion and the thorax portion. The rear portion of the cephalothorax is narrow and has parallel sides. It appears to be part of the pedicel. The abdomen is constricted, an evolutionary modification to mimic ants. There are white marks at the constriction on dark individuals, pale marks on light individuals. The legs have no prominent spines. The front legs are curved, mimicking ant antennae. On the copulatory organs of the male (palpal bulbs) the embolus is fixed to the tegulum. There are four pairs of eyes arranged in three rows. The front middle (anterior median) pair is by far the largest. The rear two pair form a square. |
||||||
| Similar Species |
|
||||||
| Food |
|
||||||
| Life Cycle | The ant-mimicking jumping spider is prey for the very ants that it mimics, yet it builds its nest in close proximity to an ant nest. It constructs a very tough nest that the ants cannot penetrate. The odor of the nearby ant nest keeps predators away from the spider nest. |
||||||
| Behavior | Movements by the spider keep ants at an acceptable distance. |
||||||
| Distribution |  |
Sources 24, 27, 30. |
|||||
| 11/2/2019 | |||||||
| Comments | Batesian Mimic |
||||||
| Taxonomy | Order: |
Araneae (spiders) |
|||||
Suborder: |
Araneomorphae |
||||||
No Rank: |
Entelegynae (eight-eyed spiders) |
||||||
No Rank: |
RTA clade |
||||||
No Rank: |
Dionycha |
||||||
Family: |
Salticidae (jumping spiders) |
||||||
no rank: |
Salticoida |
||||||
no rank: |
Amycoida |
||||||
Subfamily: |
Synemosyninae |
||||||
| Synonyms |
|
||||||
| Common Names |
ant-mimicking jumping spider |
||||||
Glossary
Cephalothorax
The front part of a spider’s body, composed of the head region and the thoracic area fused together. Eyes, legs, and antennae are attached to this part.
Pedicel
In plants: the stalk of a single flower in a cluster of flowers. In Hymenoptera and Araneae: the narrow stalk connecting the thorax to the abdomen.
| Visitor Photos | |||
Share your photo of this arachnid. |
|||
This button not working for you? |
|||
| Siri | |||
Measured about 3mm in length. |
|||
 |
|||
| Terry Hayes | |||
… this ant mimic spider is something new to me. I've seen three of them in my yard in Montrose MN. |
|||
|
|||
| MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos | |||
| Slideshows | ||
| jumping spider (Synemosyna formica) Bill Keim |
||
|
||
| Visitor Videos | |||
Share your video of this arachnid. |
|||
This button not working for you? |
|||
| Other Videos | |||
| Synemosyna formica (ant mimic) - Jumping Spider Dick Walton |
|||
About
Uploaded on Nov 26, 2010 female Synemosyna formica jumping spider; this ant mimic is shown preparing a leaf for a shelter |
|||
| Antlike Jumping Spider Synemosyna formica Spiderville Kentucky |
|||
About
Published on Apr 27, 2015 Jumping spider |
|||
| Visitor Sightings | ||||
Report a sighting of this arachnid. |
||||
|
This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Be sure to include a location. |
||||
| Terry Hayes 10/31/2019 |
Location: Eagan MN Measured about 3mm in length.. |
|
||
| Terry Hayes 10/4/2015 |
Location: Montrose MN Hi, I see you could use a few more spider pictures on your website. I have a lot of jumping spider pix, but this ant mimic spider is something new to me. I've seen three of them in my yard in Montrose MN. |
|
||
| MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings | ||||
|
|
||||
Created: 10/23/2015
Last Updated: