Hart’s jumping spider

Hart’s jumping spider is a small typical jumping spider. It occurs in the United States from Maine to Georgia, west to North Dakota, Colorado, and eastern Texas. It also occurs in southern Canada from Quebec to Manitoba. Adults are active from May through August. They are commonly found on the bark of trees, from the ground level to the highest branches.

The female is ⅛″ to ¼″ (4.0 to 7.0 mm) in length. The male is smaller, ⅛″ to 3⁄16″ (4.0 to 5.5 mm) in length. The legspan for both sexes is ¼″ to ⅜″ (6 to 9 mm). The body is low and flat when viewed from the side. The entire body is covered with very small, dark and pale, gray or reddish, iridescent scales.

The front part of the body (cephalothorax) is low, longer than wide, and only slightly convex. It is slightly overlapped by the abdomen. When viewed from above the sides are nearly parallel. The plate covering the cephalothorax (carapace) is mostly medium brown with a narrow white stripe on the lateral margins. It is slightly darker in the eye area.

There are four pairs of eyes arranged in what appears to be three rows occupying less than half of the carapace. The first row of four eyes, consisting of the anterior median eyes (AME) and anterior lateral eyes (ALE), is curved backward. The AME are the middle and forward-most pair of these. They are by far the largest of all of the eyes and can be moved. The AME are about twice as large as the ALE. The second row of two eyes are the posterior median eyes (PME). They are very small and are barely or not at all noticeable in most photos. The third row of eyes is the posterior lateral eyes (PLE). The PLE are set far back on the head and are only slightly wider apart than the first row of four eyes (AME and ALE together). The PME and ALE form a wide rectangle. The AME are closer to the ALE than to the PLE. The PME are closer to the ALE than to the PLE. On the male, there are no tufts of hairs over the ALE.

On the female, there is a broad pale band around the front and lateral margins of the abdomen.

The legs are short, oriented forward, and adapted for jumping. They have seven segments, and they are not striped. The front legs are the longest on the male, the rear legs are the longest on the female. On both sexes, the front legs are the stoutest, they are mostly dark brown, and there is a short, stiff fringe of hairs on the fifth segment (tibia). The sixth segment (metatarsus) and seventh segment (tarsus) are light brown and are darkened toward the end. The other legs are mostly lighter brown, but each segment is darkened toward the tip, and the fourth segment (femur) has fine, dark, longitudinal lines.

Female Body Length: ⅛″ to ¼″ (4.0 to 7.0 mm)

Male Body Length: ⅛″ to 3⁄16″ (4.0 to 5.5 mm)

Legspan: ¼″ to ⅜″ (6 to 9 mm)

No web

May through August

Sources

29, 30, 82, 83.

Tutelina harti Female {Jumping Spider}
Salticidae Observations

Tutelina harti (Peckham in Emerton, 1891) Middlesex Co., MA ♂ ♀
Dick Walton

Location: Albany, NY

Location: Albany, NY

Location: Albany, NY

Location: Albany, NY

Location: Albany, NY