The bold jumping spider, Phidippus audax, is a widely recognized arachnid. Its distinctive appearance makes it easily identifiable. These spiders are generally black with a velvety body, prominent large eyes, and strikingly iridescent chelicerae, which can display hues of green or blue. A notable white or sometimes orange triangular spot typically marks their abdomen.
Geographic Range and Preferred Environments
Bold jumping spiders are native to North America, widespread across the United States, southern Canada, and northern Mexico. They have also been introduced globally to regions like Hawaii, the Nicobar Islands, the Azores, and the Netherlands. These adaptable spiders prefer temperate climates and diverse terrestrial habitats.
Their preferred outdoor environments include grasslands, chaparrals, open woodlands, agricultural fields, meadows, and prairies. They frequently inhabit human-modified landscapes such as gardens, backyards, and suburban yards. These spiders often seek out vertical surfaces like fences, exterior walls, and the sunny sides of buildings.
While primarily outdoors, they are occasionally found inside homes, barns, and garages. Indoors, they might be found on window sills, in basements, or in less disturbed areas like under furniture, in drapes, or in cracks within wood flooring and around door and window moldings. Their active, diurnal nature means they favor open, sunny locations for hunting.
Microhabitats and Retreats
Despite their active hunting style, bold jumping spiders construct sac-like silk retreats. These silken structures serve as shelters for resting at night, providing protection from predators and adverse weather. They also utilize these retreats for crucial life stages, including molting and overwintering.
For molting, spiders enclose themselves within a thicker silk sac to shed their exoskeleton and grow larger. This process varies in duration, from minutes for very young spiders to several weeks for sub-adults, during which they are particularly vulnerable. Immature spiders preparing for winter envelop themselves in similar silk shelters, often under rocks and bark, to enter a dormant state known as diapause.
Female bold jumping spiders also create these silk sacs as nurseries for their eggs. These thick, fluffy egg sacs are typically placed in protected spots, such as in corners of enclosures, beneath rocks, or under tree bark and old logs. A female diligently guards her egg sac, which can contain 30 to 170 eggs, until they hatch, usually within one to four weeks.