Peucetia viridans
Encyclopedia
Peucetia viridans, the green lynx spider, is a conspicuous bright-green spider found on shrubs. It is the largest North American lynx spider
.
.
Gravid females are able to change their color to fit their background. This takes about 16 days.
The female constructs one to four 2 centimetre (0.78740157480315 in) egg sacs in September and October, each containing 25 to 600 bright orange eggs, which she guards, usually hanging upside down from a sac and attacking everything that comes near. The eggs hatch after about two weeks, and after another two weeks fully functional spiderlings emerge from the sac. They pass through eight instar
s to reach maturity. This non venomous spider is usually found on foliage
fields. The spiders have been observed to hunt several moth
species and their larvae, including some of the most important crop pests, such as the bollworm moth (Heliothis zea), the cotton leafworm moth (Alabama agrillacea) and the cabbage looper moth (Trichoplusia ni). However, they also prey on beneficial insects, such as honey bee
s.
This species occurs in the southern United States,Some parts in Northern California, Central America
, the West Indies, and Venezuela
.
, a species that occurs only in India
and Myanmar
, or P. viridis from Spain
and Africa
.
Lynx spider
Lynx Spiders are the members of the family Oxyopidae. They all are hunting spiders that spend their lives on plants, flowers and shrubs. At least one species has been identified as exhibiting social behaviour.-Description and habits:...
.
Description
The female reaches a body length of 22 millimetre (0.866141732283465 in); the more slender male averages 12 millimetre (0.47244094488189 in). There usually is a red patch between the eyes, with red spots over the body. The eye region is clothed with white appressed hairs. The legs are green to yellow, with very long black spines, and covered with black spots. It is rather similar to P. longipalpis, the other Peucetia species to occur in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Gravid females are able to change their color to fit their background. This takes about 16 days.
Habits
Instar
An instar is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each molt , until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or assume a new form. Differences between instars can often be seen in altered body proportions, colors, patterns, or...
s to reach maturity. This non venomous spider is usually found on foliage
Human interest
The green lynx spider very seldom bites humans, and its bite is harmless though painful. It is primarily of interest for its use in agricultural pest management, for example in cottonCotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
fields. The spiders have been observed to hunt several moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
species and their larvae, including some of the most important crop pests, such as the bollworm moth (Heliothis zea), the cotton leafworm moth (Alabama agrillacea) and the cabbage looper moth (Trichoplusia ni). However, they also prey on beneficial insects, such as honey bee
Honey bee
Honey bees are a subset of bees in the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis...
s.
Distribution
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, the West Indies, and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
.
Name
The species name, viridans, is Latin for "becoming green". It is not to be confused with P. viridanaPeucetia viridana
Peucetia viridana is a species of spider found in India and Myanmar....
, a species that occurs only in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, or P. viridis from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
External links
- Green lynx spider on the UFUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
/ IFASInstitute of Food and Agricultural SciencesThe University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information...
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