Bug card No. 1694 of 4,939

Flea jumping spider

Naphrys pulex

Eats: Other bugs and small animals SpidersGardens and meadows8 legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The flea jumping spider is a tiny jumping spider, only about half a centimetre long. Its brownish colours help it hide, and it has a yellowish bar on its back. Like all jumping spiders, it does not build a web to catch food.

Fun fact: spiders are not insects. Insects have six legs, spiders have eight. Everyone calls them bugs anyway!

Lives in

Canada and the United States, mostly in the east

Length

4 to 6.1 mm (0.16 to 0.24 in)

Top speed

about 0.81 km/h (0.5 mph)

On foot, estimate

Can it hurt you?

Harmless

Spiders are venomous! Read about spider venom on Venom Wiki →

What does it eat?

It mostly hunts ants.

Photo of Flea jumping spider — Picture by WanderingMogwai. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

small enough to sit on your fingernailcould run across a dinner table in 4.4 secondsmoves 37 times its own body length every second

How big is Flea jumping spider compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)

Flea jumping spider about 0.81 km/h (0.5 mph)

A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)

A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

The male does a little dance to impress the female, while she watches.

Scientists wrote about its dance back in 1889.

Its back legs are its longest legs.

You can find it on walls, in grass, among fallen leaves and on tree trunks.

you asked

Most asked questions about Flea jumping spider

?What does the flea jumping spider eat?

It feeds mainly on ants.

For bug experts

Scientific name: Naphrys pulex
Named by: Hentz, 1846
Group: Spiders
Family: Salticidae
Classification: Arachnida > Araneae > Salticidae
Lives on: North America

Where the facts come from

Naphrys pulex (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
Picture by WanderingMogwai. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip