UPSC Express

In focus: Jerzego sunil limaye

• Morphology
  • Large body size (Females double the size of Males)
  • A crescent-shaped golden–yellow stripe in the posterior half of the abdomen
• Habitat
  • Areas covered with a thick canopy dominated by trees, such as Mango Trees.

In brief: Jumping Spiders and Spiders

Jumping spiders

• Jumping spider family is the most diverse spider family with around 6000 species discovered so far.
• In India, there are about 256 species of jumping spiders known till date.
• Characteristics
  • Larger anterior median eyes and possess brilliant vision.
  • They are diurnal hunters with swift reflexes.

Spiders: Arachnids

• Kingdom: Spider belongs to phylum ‘Arthropoda’
• Class: Under arthropoda, spiders belong to ‘Arachnids’ class which also includes scorpions, mites, and ticks.
• They have 4 pairs of walking legs.
• Spiders construct webs by spinning fibers of silk (basically protein molecules) to trap flying insects.
• Feeding organ of spiders include fangs.
• Fangs have poison glands which help in paralyzing the prey.
• Thus spiders are predators mainly feeding on insects.
• As a result spiders are good pest-controllers.
• Spiders are also called as the tigers of micro-habitat due to its ecological sensitivity.