Fun Golden Jumping Spider Facts For Kids

The golden jumping spider is a jumping spider that is part of the Salticidae family. Part of the Paraphidippus genus, the scientific name of this spider is Paraphidippus aurantius. Interestingly, the golden jumping spider has many different names such as the emerald jumping spider and the emerald jumper. Being part of the family of jumping spiders, the golden jumping spider doesn't spin its web to trap its prey. Instead, it will jump and hide for its prey, before pouncing on them.

These spiders get their name from the golden, orange, emerald, and brown coloration on their bodies. However, apart from this very little information is available regarding these spiders. Even conservation organizations like the International Union For Conservation Of Nature or the IUCN haven't yet evaluated the conservation status of the emerald jumping spider in the wild.

Continue reading for some super cool facts about this species of jumping spider. For information regarding other species, take a look at the jumping spider and bold jumping spider.

What type of animal is a golden jumping spider?

The golden jumping spider (Paraphidippus aurantius) is a species of jumping spider belonging to the Salticidae family. Even though not a lot is known about these jumping spiders, they are quite active in nature and a treat to the eyes.

What class of animal does a golden jumping spider belong to?

Being a species of spider, all jumping spiders belong to the class of Arachnida and the golden jumping spider is no different. They are part of the family Salticidae, with their genus and scientific name being Paraphidippus and Paraphidippus aurantius respectively.

How many golden jumping spiders are there in the world?

Due to little information available about these jumping spiders, it is really quite hard to pinpoint the exact number of golden jumping spiders in the world.

Where does a golden jumping spider live?

Emerald jumping spiders have been known to live in both urban and rural habitats across North and Central America. They can be found in the countries that are between the United States of America and Panama. In the United States, these Salticidae family spiders can be spotted by humans in Delaware, Maryland, Nebraska, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, Alabama, and Connecticut. They have also been spotted in urban areas like New York.

Further south, emerald jumping spiders inhabit areas of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and other countries within the Central American landmass.

What is a golden jumping spider's habitat?

The golden jumping spider species can live in a wide variety of habitat ranges. They are usually found in forests and wooded areas, but can also be found moving around in urban regions as well. As they do not use a web to trap their prey in, these spiders wait and lurk to pounce on insects where they bite them with their venom to eat. There are other species of spiders like Bolas spiders who also do not use a web to trap their food. In general, different species of jumping spiders have been known to live in tropical forests, scrublands to deserts and montane forests.

Who does the golden jumping spider live with?

Adult golden jumping spiders are known to be solitary species. They are only known to be seen in pairs while mating. There is not much information regarding this species and their behavior available. However, jumping spiders in the family Salticidae are usually diurnal and are active in hunting their prey during the day. Also, like most species in their family, golden jumping spiders do not live in web houses, and instead, live in small silk shelters. While the exact numbers of eggs laid are not estimated, we can assume they lay around 125 eggs when we look at other related species in their family.

How long does a golden jumping spider live?

Spiders belonging to this species have a lifespan of around one year, as per reports. In comparison, the nest casting spider also has a similar lifespan.

How do they reproduce?

While not a lot is known about the breeding habits of the emerald jumping spider, the reproduction of the jumping spiders, in general, is quite interesting. Jumping spiders, being solitary creatures, only get together during the mating period. Males are known to show certain courtship displays, using movements through their legs and bodies. The Salticidae spider males have been seen to jump around in order to attract females. Apart from physical displays, adult males of certain species can be seen communicating through auditory signals. If the adult female responds, mating takes place. Once the mating is complete, small, round eggs are deposited in sacs. After hatching, spiderlings are active within a few days and can jump and hunt down prey at that time.

What is their conservation status?

 Unfortunately, golden jumping spiders are a species that have not been evaluated by conservational organizations like the International Union For Conservation Of Nature or the IUCN. It may be really difficult to understand whether or not these spiders are threatened in the wild or not. On the other hand, they have been known to occur in places ranging from the United States of America to the country of Panama.

What does a golden jumping spider look like?

The appearance of golden jumping spiders is quite unique. The primary coloration on the body and the legs can vary according to sex. Males are usually much darker with brown coloration, while females are lighter with orangish or golden colors on their legs. However, the most distinctive point on the body is the abdomen. The abdomen has iridescent scales which gives the spider different colors based on where the viewer is seeing these jumping spiders. These iridescent scales sometimes can be perceived as green to the human eyes, lending it the name emerald jumping spider. The abdomen of this species of jumping spider has four pairs of white spots on them.

Interestingly, a spider belonging to the Salticidae family has four pairs of eyes or eight eyes. Of these eight eyes, three pairs of eyes are fixed and cannot be moved around. The two primary eyes are not fixed and can turn and move. These astonishing eight eyes give these jumping spiders great vision which is useful to them in hunting down their prey.

How cute are they?

A golden jumping spider may be considered cute by a few people. This should primarily be related to their appearance and their jumping attributes.

How do they communicate?

The golden jumping spider usually communicates with each other through physical activity by moving their legs and jumping. You can often observe that they raise their arm or peduncles. While this may seem to us as waving, this arm raising is a signal to other of its species and can also be used when the spider is preparing to eat its prey.

How big is a golden jumping spider?

The size of the golden jumping spider is really small. There is sexual dimorphism observed because females are bigger than males. The length range of this species of spiders varies between 0.28-0.47 in (7-12 mm). In comparison, flower spiders are slightly smaller than them.

How fast can a golden jumping spider jump?

While we do not know how fast a golden jumping spider can jump, we do know that spiders in the family Salticidae have the ability to jump several times their own body length. They can do this due to their internal system of body fluids, which makes their limbs extended through hydraulic pressure. They can jump long distances despite not having any large muscular limbs.

How much does a golden jumping spider weigh?

The weight of the golden jumping spider has not been estimated and is thought to be quite negligible. A common ground spider is also quite lightweight.

What are the male and female names of the species?

No specific names have been assigned to the male and females of this species.

What would you call a baby golden jumping spider?

A baby golden jumping spider can simply be called a spiderling.

What do they eat?

As part of their diet, golden jumping spiders eat and prey on small insects and bugs. They use their bite which has some amount of venom to pounce and kill their prey. Interestingly, some species of jumping spiders have nectar in their diet.

Are they dangerous?

While their bite may be dangerous to insects, it is not fatal to humans. When they bite, it may swell up and itch for a while. In comparison, the black widow spider and the Brazilian wandering spider are considered to be some of the most dangerous spiders in the world and their bite can kill humans too.

Would they make a good pet?

We would recommend not having this spider as a pet as they are best suited to their wild habitat and it will be extremely difficult to tame them.

Did you know...

The family of jumping spiders, Salticidae, contains over 6000 species distributed across 600 genera.

Are jumping spiders social? 

Not really, jumping spiders typically hunt alone and are solitary in nature.

Why do jumping spiders raise their hands? 

Jumping spiders raise their hand or peduncles to signal to others of their kind or to prepare themselves for a meal.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these common tiger facts and horse lubber grasshopper facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable jumping spider coloring pages.

Mainy image by platycryptus

Second image by Pavel Kirillov from St.Petersburg, Russia