---
title: "What the sources say about the Bold Jumping Spider | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "47 claims from the Bold Jumping Spider profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Bold Jumping Spider (*Phidippus audax*)

> 47 claims from the Bold Jumping Spider profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Bold Jumping Spider](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/bold-jumping-spider/)

## Phidippus audax. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Phidippus_audax/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| trailing a safety line of silk when it jumps | When bold jumping spiders jump, they release a line of webbing for security. (note: tagline) |
| A daytime stalker | Bold jumping spiders actively hunt during the daytime, but not at night. (note: tagline) |
| Grasslands, prairies, open woodlands, old fields, backyards and gardens across North America | The natural habitats of bold jumping spiders are are grasslands, prairies, and open woodlands. They also occur in agricultural habitat, especially old fields, and are frequently found in backyards and gardens. (note: stats.habitat; range in A-line below) |
| A wide variety of insects and other spiders | They eat a wide variety of insects and other spiders. (note: stats.diet) |
| Sneaks up and pounces on prey, trailing a silk safety line | It then sneaks up on its victim and pounces on it. When bold jumping spiders jump, they release a line of webbing for security. (note: stats.superpower) |
| Not Evaluated | IUCN Red List No special status (note: stats.conservationStatus. ADW's 'No special status' anchors only that no Red List category applies. The prefetch (2026-10-11) found no Red List assessment for Phidippus audax (GBIF has no category, no Crossref assessment DOI), so no IUCN reference is cited.) |
| The forward-facing eyes in the middle of the front are the largest of the eight. | The forward-facing anterior median (AM) eyes are the largest of all the eyes. |
| When a person looks at the spider, they are the ones that look back. | When a person looks at the spider, the AM eyes are the ones that look back at that person. |
| this one hunts by day, not at night | Bold jumping spiders actively hunt during the daytime, but not at night. |
| It watches a target with its sharp vision, sneaks up on it and pounces. | actively watches its prey with its sharp vision. It then sneaks up on its victim and pounces on it. |
| The powerful hind legs propel the leap. | The powerful hind legs are responsible for propelling the spider into a leap. |
| Flies get a different angle of approach and a different jump distance than caterpillars. | approaching flies from a different angle and jumping from a different distance than they do caterpillars |
| When a bold jumping spider leaps, it releases a line of webbing, and if the jump fails, the line catches the spider before it falls. | When bold jumping spiders jump, they release a line of webbing for security. This ensures that if a leap fails, there is a safety line that will catch the spider before it falls. |
| The menu is a wide variety of insects and other spiders. | They eat a wide variety of insects and other spiders. |
| In Idaho, the species was seen preying on hobo spiders. | In Idaho, P. audax was observed preying on hobo spiders. |
| The male courts with a display particular to the species. | There is a species-specific courting display |
| He lifts certain legs and shows off his colored spots. | The male lifts certain legs and shows off his colored spots. |
| If the female approaches too rapidly, he jumps away. | If the female approaches too rapidly, the male will jump away. |
| The species occurs across North America, from southeastern Canada west to British Columbia and south to Florida, the Gulf Coast and northern Mexico. | occur across North America from southeastern Canada west to British Columbia, and south to Florida, the Gulf Coast and northern Mexico. |
| Its natural habitats are grasslands, prairies and open woodlands, and it is frequently found in backyards and gardens. | The natural habitats of bold jumping spiders are are grasslands, prairies, and open woodlands. They also occur in agricultural habitat, especially old fields, and are frequently found in backyards and gardens. |
| The species is venomous, but its bite is not dangerous to humans. | This species is venomous, but the bite is not dangerous to humans. |
| A female may produce as many as 6 clutches of eggs, each holding 30 to 170 eggs. | A female may produce as many as 6 clutches of eggs, each containing 30-170 eggs. |
| She makes a silk shelter for the eggs and guards them until they hatch and the spiderlings disperse. | Females make a silk shelter for their eggs, and guard them until they hatch and the spiderlings disperse. |
| Dragonflies are known to attack it. Birds and lizards do as well. | Dragonflies are known to attack them, and birds and lizards do as well. |
| Faced with an animal too large to eat, it flees quickly, jumping down and away or hiding in a small crevice. | Bold jumpers will quickly flee from animals that are too large to eat, jumping down and away or hiding in small crevices. |
| A bold jumping spider watches its target, sneaks up on it and pounces | actively watches its prey with its sharp vision. It then sneaks up on its victim and pounces on it. (note: vibe.reason) |
| its powerful hind legs propelling the leap | The powerful hind legs are responsible for propelling the spider into a leap. (note: vibe.reason) |
| a silk safety line trails behind | When bold jumping spiders jump, they release a line of webbing for security. This ensures that if a leap fails, there is a safety line that will catch the spider before it falls. (note: vibe.reason) |
| tags: agile | Bold jumpers will quickly flee from animals that are too large to eat, jumping down and away or hiding in small crevices. |

## Bold Jumper Spider. Penn State Extension.

https://extension.psu.edu/bold-jumper-spider

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Jumping spiders require daylight to hunt their prey | jumping spiders require daylight to hunt their prey (note: the source's comparison with 'many other hunting spiders' is not stated on the page) |
| The bold jumping spider is black and hairy. Females measure 8 to 19 millimeters and males 6 to 13. | P. audax is a black, hairy spider measuring 8 to 19 millimeters for the females and 6 to 13 millimeters for the males. (note: ADW gives 8 to 15 mm for females; the body follows the 2025 Penn State page) |
| Its genus holds the largest-bodied of the jumping spiders. | Spiders in the genus Phidippus are the largest-bodied of the salticids. |
| White, yellow or orange spots mark the top of the abdomen, and they are orange on younger spiders. | There is a pattern of white, yellow, or orange spots on the top of the abdomen (orange on the younger spiders) |
| frequently have an iridescent green hue | the chelicerae frequently have an iridescent green hue |
| Males have "eyebrows," tufts of hairs over the eyes. | The males have "eyebrows," or tufts of hairs over the eyes. |
| It can be found on windowsills, tree trunks and deck railings in daylight. | They can be found on windowsills, tree trunks, and deck railings; under stones; and in other locations during daylight hours. |
| It overwinters nearly mature, then becomes adult in April and May. | These spiders overwinter as nearly mature, or penultimate, individuals. They mature into adults in April and May |
| It is a shy spider that retreats from people, and if it is handled it generally does not bite. | Bold jumpers are shy spiders that retreat from humans when approached. If handled, they generally do not bite. |
| When a bite does happen, minor pain, itching, swelling and redness may last one to two days. | When bites occur, minor pain, itching, swelling, and redness may persist for one to two days. |

## Menda et al. (2014). Visual Perception in the Brain of a Jumping Spider. Current Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.029

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| from a spider family whose forward-looking resolution beats every insect's | forward-looking spatial resolution surpassing that of all insects (note: tagline; Menda's abstract is about salticids as a family, so the tagline scopes it to the family) |
| belongs to a family that sees through four pairs of eyes | Salticids perform these tasks with information from four pairs of functionally specialized eyes |
| In jumping spiders, forward-looking spatial resolution surpasses that of all insects and even some mammals | forward-looking spatial resolution surpassing that of all insects and even some mammals |
| processed by a brain roughly the size of a poppy seed | processed by a brain roughly the size of a poppy seed |
| In jumping spiders, high-acuity and motion vision are processed by different pairs of eyes. | high-acuity and motion vision are processed by different pairs of eyes |

## Spano, Long & Jakob (2012). Secondary eyes mediate the response to looming objects in jumping spiders (Phidippus audax, Salticidae). Biology Letters.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0716

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The principal eyes track targets with their movable retinae, while the immobile anterior lateral eyes have a larger field of view and lower resolution. | a pair of principal eyes track targets with their movable retinae, while the immobile anterior lateral (AL) eyes have a larger field of view and lower resolution |

## Vickers et al. (2014). Scavenging throughout the life cycle of the jumping spider, Phidippus audax (Hentz) (Araneae: Salticidae). Journal of Arachnology.

https://doi.org/10.1636/j13-31.1

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| in a lab study of 600 spiderlings split into eight treatments, it could survive solely on dead prey, but at significantly lower survival rates and with longer instar durations (the time spent between molts) than spiders fed live prey | We separated 600 spiderlings into eight treatments ... P. audax can survive solely on a diet of dead prey, but at significantly lower survival rates and with longer instar durations than spiders fed on live prey. |

## Freed (1984). Foraging behaviour in the jumping spider Phidippus audax: bases for selectivity. Journal of Zoology.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1984.tb06043.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In lab tests, spiders pursued large insects at significantly slower rates (more cautiously) than small ones. | spiders pursued large insects at significantly slower rates (i.e. more cautiously) than small insects |