Zebra jumping spider (Salticus scenicus)

Web: Jumping spiders don’t make catching webs, but use their large and well developed eyes to spot their prey from far away, sneak closer and pounce it with their short and strong legs.

Habitat: is very often found on walls and fences, sometimes in houses close to a window. Also on stones, rocks and logs. 

How to recognize:

• very recognizable by the black and white pattern
• small, compact spider
• ♂: male with enlarged, black jaws

Looks similar to:

• In Belgium, there are three more Salticus species with a similar drawing.

Size

♀: 5-7 mm

♂: 5-7mm

When?

♀: May till July

♂: May till June

Fleecy jumping spider (Pseudeuophrys lanigera)

Web: Jumping spiders don’t make catching webs, but use their large and well developed eyes to spot their prey from far away, sneak closer and pounce it with their short and strong legs.

Habitat: almost exclusively on buildings: on walls, roofs, fences, is frequently found inside.

How to recognize:

• short, compact spider
• cephalothorax black, with characteristic triangle of white hairs
• abdomen dark with lighter mid band.

Looks similar to:

• Hypositticus pubescens and both are often found in the same habitat. The Fleecy jumping spider has on the cephalothorax a light triangle while Hypositticus pubescens has spots.

Size

♀: 4-6 mm

♂: 4-5 mm

When?

♀: indoor: throughout the year, outdoor: peak May till July

♂: indoor: throughout the year, outdoor: peak May till July

Hypositticus pubescens

Web: Jumping spiders don’t make catching webs, but use their large and well developed eyes to spot their prey from far away, sneak closer and pounce it with their short and powerful legs.

Habitat: often near buildings: on walls, roofs, fences, but also on rocks and logs.

How to recognize:

• small, compact spider
• colour grey brown to dark brown
• cephalothorax: mostly one conspicuous spot between the hind eyes.

Looks similar to:

• the Fleecy jumping spider and are often found in the same habitat. The Fleecy jumping spider has a light triangle on the cephalothorax while Hypositticus pubescens has spots.

Size

♀: 4-6 mm

♂: 4-5 mm

When?

♀: May till August

♂: May till August

Copper sun jumper (Heliophanus cupreus)

Web: Jumping spiders don’t make catching webs, but use their large and well developed eyes to spot their prey from far away, sneak closer and pounce it using their short and powerful legs.

Habitat: on low to medium high vegetation or on the ground. Often on sunny places such as forest edges, but also in gardens. 

How to recognize:

• small, compact spider
• ♀: black spider with greenish to copper metallic sheen
• ♀: abdomen with in front a light coloured band
• ♀: light yellow palps and light brown legs, finely annulated
• ♂: completely black with metallic sheen

Looks similar to:

• other Heliophanus species. The lighter spots are often very variable, making them an unreliable characteristic.

Size

♀: 4-6 mm

♂: 3,5-4mm

When?

♀: May till July

♂: May till July

Fencepost jumping spider (Marpissa muscosa)

Web: Jumping spiders don’t make catching webs, but use their large and well developed eyes to spot their prey from far away, sneak closer and pounce it with their short and strong legs. The Fencepost jumping spider sometimes catches prey that are much bigger than itself, including other spiders.

Habitat: on logs, but also on fences, gates, garden sheds and walls. Often on sunny or partially shaded places.

How to recognize:

• largest native jumping spider
• oblong body
• short, sturdy legs, front legs thickened
• colour grey brown to dark brown
• abdomen with light and dark symmetrical spots
• the female has an orange stripe (hairs) underneath the frontal eyes.

Looks similar to:

• Upon close inspection, this species is hard to confuse with any other jumping spider.

Size

♀: 8-11 mm

♂: 6-8 mm

When?

♀: April till September

♂: April till September

Spitting spiders (Scytodidae)

Spitting spider (Scytodes thoracica)

Web: the Spitting spider doesn’t make a catching web, but stalks its prey (flies, mosquitoes) on walls and spits a mixture of sticky silk and poison in a zigzag pattern over the prey. The threadlike adhesive shrinks, pinning the prey to the surface.   

Habitat: almost exclusively indoors. In summer sometimes on the outside of houses and one very strange find of a Spitting spider underneath a tussock in a field during winter (!).

How to recognize:

• typical colour pattern of dark stripes and dots on an orange/light brown/grey or beige background colour.
• cephalothorax is often as big as the abdomen and has a characteristic shape with a flattened front.

Looks similar to:

• the Spitting spider has a very characteristic appearance and is almost impossible to confuse with other species.

Size

♀: 4-6 mm

♂: 3-5 mm

When?

♀: throughout the year

♂: throughout the year

Cell spiders (Dysderidae)

Woodlouse spider (Dysdera crocata)

Web: the Woodlouse spider doesn’t make a catching web, but actively hunts its prey.

Habitat: Is found in a humid environment such as underneath stones, flower pots, bark, dead wood. In gardens and in parcs, but also in forests. Sometimes also indoors in humid cellars.

How to recognize:

• big spider with large protruding fangs
• easily recognizable by the strikingly red/orange coloured body
• abdomen yellowish or grey

Looks similar to:

• lesser woodlouse spider (Dysdera erythrina): only through detailed study using a stereomicroscope can the two species accurately be identified. On the other hand, he Lesser woodlouse spider is much more rare, is almost never found in or close by houses and is generally smaller and lighter of colour. Size and colour are, however, not reliable characteristics as a young Woodlouse spider also exhibits these.

Size

♀: 11-15 mm

♂: 9-10 mm

When?

♀: throughout the year, but with a peak from May till July

♂: throughout the year, but with a peak from May till July

Cellar spiders (Pisauridae)

Cellar spider (Pholcus phalangoides)

Web: an open, messy, 3D web.  

Habitat: almost always in or close to buildings. Often in the corner of the ceiling in cellars or bathrooms, but also in the garage, the garden shed,…

How to recognize:

• spider with elongated abdomen and very long, thin legs
• abdomen with beige or grey colour

Looks similar to:

• because of the long legs, cellar spiders can be confused with harvestmen (daddy longlegs). However, harvestmen are not spiders, the big difference lies in the body. In harvestmen the body consists of one piece, in spiders you can clearly recognize two sections: cephalothorax and abdomen.

Size

♀: 8-10 mm

♂: 7-10 mm

When?

♀: throughout the year

♂: throughout the year

Nursery web spiders (Pisauridae)

Nursery web spider (Pisaura mirabilis)

Web: the Nursery web spider doesn’t make a catching web, but is an active hunter, by using fangs and legs to immobilize prey.  

Habitat: often in open habitats with rather high vegetation such as roadsides, grasslands, forest edges. Also in the garden on taller grass.

How to recognize:

• big spider with oblong body
• colour yellow brown to grey brown
• abdomen with variable colour. Often with a light midstripe with dark, undulating bands.
• cephalothorax with a thin, light midstripe, ending in a small tuft of hair.

Looks similar to:

• the Nursery web spider has a very characteristic appearance and is easily recognized

Size

♀: 11-15 mm

♂: 10-13 mm

When?

♀: May till August

♂: May till July

Ground wolf spider (Trochosa terricola)

Web: Wolf spiders don’t make a catching web, but are active hunters that use their legs and jaws to immobilize prey. The Ground wolf spider hunts predominantly during the night.

Habitat: underneath rocks, litter, moss, in humid areas. 

How to recognize:

• big, robust wolf spider
• cephalothorax with typical light midband, with two dark stripes in the widened part
• abdomen with cardiac mark that ususally doesn’t clearly stand out against the rest of the abdomen.

Looks similar to:

• the three other Trochosa species in Belgium. The differences in the markings of the cardiac mark are not a reliable determination characteristic. Investigating the reproductive structures using a stereomicroscope gives a definitive identification.

Size

♀: 7-14 mm

♂: 7-9 mm

When?

♀: throughout the year

♂: throughout the year