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Sticker of Emerald jumper
Bug card No. 0462 of 1,500

Emerald jumper

Paraphidippus aurantius
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsSpidersGardens and meadows8 legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The emerald jumper is a fuzzy jumping spider that can be shiny green or black. It has white stripes on the sides of its head and a white edge around its back. It does not build a web to catch food: it hunts by sneaking up and jumping.

Fun fact: spiders are not insects. Insects have six legs, spiders have eight. Everyone calls them bugs anyway!
Lives in
From the United States down to Panama and the Caribbean islands, on leaves and garden plants
Length
1 cm (0.39 in)
Top speed
about 1 km/h (0.62 mph)
On foot, estimate
What does it eat?
It hunts insects and other spiders. It is so clever that it can even catch animals much bigger than itself.
For real!Photo of Emerald jumper
Picture by platycryptus. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Emerald jumper about 1 cm long (0.39 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)
small enough to sit on your fingernailas long as 1.5 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 3.6 secondsmoves 28 times its own body length every second

How big is Emerald jumper compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

With that careful trick it has even caught small birds many times bigger than itself.

2

Its hairs stick up, which gives it a puffy, fluffy look.

3

It likes to sit on big leaves, like yucca, where it stays dry in the rain and can see all around.

you asked

Most asked questions about Emerald jumper

?What does an emerald jumping spider eat?

It hunts insects, other spiders and sometimes even bigger animals.

?Does the emerald jumper make a web?

It does not catch food in a web. It sneaks up on its prey and pounces.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Paraphidippus aurantius
Group
Spiders
Family
Salticidae
Classification
Arachnida > Araneae > Salticidae
Lives on
North America
Also known as
Emerald jumping spider, Golden jumping spider

Where the facts come from

  1. Paraphidippus aurantius (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by platycryptus. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

More from the same group: Spiders

Also at home here: Gardens and meadows