Friend or foe

Gray Wall Jumper Spider - Menemerus bivittatus

 

Menemerus,bivittatus, commonly called the gray wall jumper or the gray jumping spider, is a jumping spider that can be found in hot and tropical regions around the world and in the South of the United States.

Gray Wall Jumper Description
As its name suggests, the gray wall jumper has a gray body color. It will often be a mixture of shades of gray, giving off the appearance of darker and light gray patches across its entire body. Their body is covered with thin, grayish-white hairs.

The gray wall jumper has two black stripes on both upper sides of its carapace and abdomen. Similarly, it has black rings around its four legs.




The Gray Wall Jumper – Photography by: K. J. Ester
Size
The larger female of the gray wall jumper can reach a size of up to 1/2 inch (1.2 cm). They can take down insects up to twice their own body size.

Web
Since the gray jumping spider is a hunter spider, it doesn’t spin a web to catch prey. Sometimes, it creates a drag line with its web during the jump as a safety line in case the jump fails.



Bite
Like the bite of any jumping spider, the bite of the gray wall spider is not dangerous to humans. Jumping spider bites are also very rare since the timid spiders usually jump away from any humans very quickly. A bite may lead to some minor swellings but will not cause any great discomfort.

Scientific Classification of Menemerus bivittatus

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Arthropoda
• Subphylum: Chelicerata
• Class: Arachnida
• Order: Araneae
• Infraorder: Araneomorphae
• Family: Salticidae
• Genus: Menemerus
• Species: Menemerus bivittatus

Common Names

Gray wall jumper or gray jumping spider


Distribution of the gray wall jumper in the USA

In the United States, the gray wall jumper can be found in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas,

 

Only thing is if he is hanging out on your plant there may be some pest there somewhere for him to eat.

 

Gray Wall Jumper – Menmerus Bivittatus – Species Fact Sheet

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The grey wall jumping spider is a brilliant jumping spider with lots of unique qualities that will interest spider lovers. Because of its unique antics and special hunting skills, many exotic pet lovers are looking to breed the gray wall jumper in captivity.



While our spider friend belongs to the family Salticidae, it is a pantropical species. This explains why you’ll commonly find it on walls of buildings or tree trunks from where it unleashes its impeccable hunting skills.


If you’re as intrigued as we are about the gray wall jumping spider, then you won’t be disappointed to read further as we have put together some exciting details about the gray wall jumping spider you’d love to check out.




Table of Contents

California, and as far as Paraguay. That’s not all; there have also been reported sightings of this jumping spider species in Colombia, Venezuela, and some Caribbean islands.

Habitat and distribution
Like we mentioned earlier, the gray wall jumping spider loves the heat available in tropical regions; this explains why it is native to Africa. That said, our spider friend thrives very well in almost all environments, including temperate regions. From rain forests to tropical woodlands and even savanna, our spider friends can be easily spotted on tree trunks or walls of buildings, where they patiently wait and seek out prey.

Diet and feeding
Even though the gray wall jumping spider doesn’t use its webs for hunting, it is still a brilliant and skillful hunter that can actively seek out prey and take it down using its precision jumps.

Thanks to its excellent vision and impeccable jumping skills, our spider friend can take on small and large insects. Our leaper friends like to feed on insects like mosquitoes, flies, small crickets, grasshoppers, mealworms, and more in the wild. On a starving day, gray wall jumping spiders can feast on other smaller spiders, especially web-building spiders.


However, if you plan on raising them in captivity, you’ll have to provide feeder insects for them. And that shouldn’t be an issue as you can easily catch feeder insects around your home or get them from pet stores close to you.

What is their temperament?
If you’re incredibly thrilled about jumping spiders, we are sure by now you’ll know that most jumping spiders are super friendly. And with the gray wall jumping spider, you get more of the same. That said, our spider friends will bite when they are handled roughly or feel threatened. So, you must handle them gently, so you don’t end up getting bitten.

Is it dangerous or venomous to humans?
If you’re not particularly familiar with spiders, you may get freaked out the first time you come across a jumping spider. But just so you know, the gray wall jumping spider is one of the most friendly jumping spiders you’ll come across.

Although they can bite and have venoms that can incapacitate their prey, their venom isn’t harmful to humans. If you ever get bitten by a gray wall jumping spider, you’ll only experience slight pain, redness, and irritations that subsides after a couple of days.


Frequently asked questions: Learn more about the gray wall jumping spider.
How long can they survive in the wild?
Although most jumping spiders have a very short lifespan, the gray wall jumping spider can survive for nearly a year and a half in the wild. When bred in captivity, they tend to survive much longer as they can live for up to 3 years. Similarly, females live longer than their male counterparts.

What do they eat?
Gray wall jumpers can take on both small and large insects. In the wild, our spider friends will feast on insects such as mosquitoes, flies, grasshoppers, crickets, and even smaller web-building spiders.

Can you keep gray wall jumpers as pets?
Because of their friendly personality, gray wall jumpers will make an amazing pet for exotic pet lovers. Also, because their venom isn’t harmful to humans, you can rest assured that you’ll not suffer any serious harm if you ever get bitten by these leapers.

Conclusion
If you like jumping spiders, we have no doubt that the gray wall jumping spider will interest you. Though it doesn’t have much going for it in terms of colors, its impressive vision, vicious hunting skills and its ability to thrive in almost all environment will thrill you.





Table of Contents

California, and as far as Paraguay. That’s not all; there have also been reported sightings of this jumping spider species in Colombia, Venezuela, and some Caribbean islands.

Habitat and distribution
Like we mentioned earlier, the gray wall jumping spider loves the heat available in tropical regions; this explains why it is native to Africa. That said, our spider friend thrives very well in almost all environments, including temperate regions. From rain forests to tropical woodlands and even savanna, our spider friends can be easily spotted on tree trunks or walls of buildings, where they patiently wait and seek out prey.

Diet and feeding
Even though the gray wall jumping spider doesn’t use its webs for hunting, it is still a brilliant and skillful hunter that can actively seek out prey and take it down using its precision jumps.

Thanks to its excellent vision and impeccable jumping skills, our spider friend can take on small and large insects. Our leaper friends like to feed on insects like mosquitoes, flies, small crickets, grasshoppers, mealworms, and more in the wild. On a starving day, gray wall jumping spiders can feast on other smaller spiders, especially web-building spiders.


However, if you plan on raising them in captivity, you’ll have to provide feeder insects for them. And that shouldn’t be an issue as you can easily catch feeder insects around your home or get them from pet stores close to you.

What is their temperament?
If you’re incredibly thrilled about jumping spiders, we are sure by now you’ll know that most jumping spiders are super friendly. And with the gray wall jumping spider, you get more of the same. That said, our spider friends will bite when they are handled roughly or feel threatened. So, you must handle them gently, so you don’t end up getting bitten.

Is it dangerous or venomous to humans?
If you’re not particularly familiar with spiders, you may get freaked out the first time you come across a jumping spider. But just so you know, the gray wall jumping spider is one of the most friendly jumping spiders you’ll come across.

Although they can bite and have venoms that can incapacitate their prey, their venom isn’t harmful to humans. If you ever get bitten by a gray wall jumping spider, you’ll only experience slight pain, redness, and irritations that subsides after a couple of days.


Frequently asked questions: Learn more about the gray wall jumping spider.
How long can they survive in the wild?
Although most jumping spiders have a very short lifespan, the gray wall jumping spider can survive for nearly a year and a half in the wild. When bred in captivity, they tend to survive much longer as they can live for up to 3 years. Similarly, females live longer than their male counterparts.

What do they eat?
Gray wall jumpers can take on both small and large insects. In the wild, our spider friends will feast on insects such as mosquitoes, flies, grasshoppers, crickets, and even smaller web-building spiders.

Can you keep gray wall jumpers as pets?
Because of their friendly personality, gray wall jumpers will make an amazing pet for exotic pet lovers. Also, because their venom isn’t harmful to humans, you can rest assured that you’ll not suffer any serious harm if you ever get bitten by these leapers.

Conclusion
If you like jumping spiders, we have no doubt that the gray wall jumping spider will interest you. Though it doesn’t have much going for it in terms of colors, its impressive vision, vicious hunting skills and its ability to thrive in almost all environment will thrill you.

 

I regard all spiders on my plants as my friends.

 

I'm just the opposite, anything moving in my tent besides wind on leaves is dead, don't want anything at all except plants.

 

all grow rooms have there different forms of spiders . One of mine at home has clear spiders you can see right through them. A friend of mine has white skin color . Another room has what i call crab spiders . Bit off topic i had one of these spiders in my house . I think it was on me ! When came home with me when i was walking the dog in the woods . I kept it in a glass container in my office . Kept it alive for quite a wile . Can be deadly . Dangerous Pests: The Brown Recluse Spider in Michigan
I would suggest snapping more clear pics of your plant from top to bottom. Make a new post . What is wrong with my plants ? You have many issues going on with them i want more pics to check. For sure a pest mites ?