Ant mimic jumping spider

Myrmarachne formicaria · Order: Araneae · Family: Salticidae

Also called: Ant-Spider

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Ant mimic jumping spider
Photo: Michael, Antoni and Nihat Hinczewski, CC BY

Myrmarachne formicaria looks like an ant, which is reflected in its name meaning “ant-like.”

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

This spider mimics an ant in appearance. Its species name, formicaria, comes from Latin words meaning “ant-like.”

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It is one of the few Myrmarachne species found outside tropical areas.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Myrmarachne formicaria is native to the Palearctic region.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 10 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Vermont, Illinois, Maine, New Hampshire.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: introduced in North America; introduced in United States; introduced in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Ant mimic jumping spider photo 2
Photo: Kyle Lambert, CC BY
Ant mimic jumping spider photo 3
Photo: Philip Stepnowski, CC BY
Ant mimic jumping spider photo 4
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Ant mimic jumping spider photo 5
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

Same family (Salticidae)

Bold Jumping SpiderBold Jumping SpiderPhidippus audaxCan biteZebra Jumping SpiderZebra Jumping SpiderSalticus scenicusHarmlessTan Jumping SpiderTan Jumping SpiderPlatycryptus undatusCan biteGray Wall Jumping SpiderGray Wall Jumping SpiderMenemerus bivittatusHalf-edged Wall Jumping SpiderHalf-edged Wall Jumping SpiderMenemerus semilimbatusBronze Jumping SpiderBronze Jumping SpiderEris militaris

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmarachne_formicaria

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.