Bug FAQFlea jumping spider
Naphrys pulex · Order: Araneae · Family: Salticidae
The flea jumping spider is a small, cryptically colored spider that lives on walls, grass, litter, ground, and tree trunks in Canada and the United States. Males are about 4 mm long, while females range from 4.6 to 6.1 mm, and they have a distinctive yellowish bar on the abdomen. They mainly eat ants and males perform a dancing courtship that the Peckhams described in 1889.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Males measure about 4 mm in total length, with a carapace around 2 mm. Females are larger, 4.6 to 6.1 mm long, with a carapace 2.0 to 2.4 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They have been found on walls, grass, litter, the ground, and tree trunks.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Their diet consists mainly of ants.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Males court females by dancing while the female watches, a behavior recorded by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1889.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
They are native to Canada and the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
The male’s larger size and the shape of its palpal bulb set it apart from similar species like Naphrys acerba.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 39 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Salticidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphrys_pulex
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.