Bug FAQGlossy Ant-spider
Micaria pulicaria · Order: Araneae · Family: Gnaphosidae
Females measure about 2.7 to 4.5 mm and males about 3 to 3.5 mm in body length. It lives on the ground in many habitats, especially sandy areas such as heaths, dunes and chalk downlands, but also in salt-marsh, mossy woodland and other dry sites. The spider is glossy black on the front part with white radiating lines, while the abdomen is very iridescent with distinctive white lines and dots.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The cephalothorax is a shiny black with white lines spreading outward. The abdomen shines with iridescence and bears two parallel white lines and three aligned dots.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Female bodies are 2.7 to 4.5 mm long; males are slightly smaller at 3 to 3.5 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
In Britain it occurs on warm sunny sandy heaths, dunes, chalk downlands, derelict land, salt-marsh, moss-filled dune slacks and moist woodland patches.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It does not hunt ants but lives near them and waves its front legs like ant antennae, which may help avoid predators that dislike ants.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Females wrap their eggs in a stiff, pot-shaped sac and frequently check it, though they do not guard it continuously.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are recorded from early February to late November, with the main activity period from late spring to mid-summer.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species has a Holarctic distribution.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 23 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, Maine, Illinois, North Dakota, Alaska, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Washington.
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
Questions people ask
How big are glossy ant-spiders?
Females are about 2.7 to 4.5 mm long and males about 3 to 3.5 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What does Micaria pulicaria look like?
It has a glossy black front body with radiating white lines and a very iridescent abdomen marked by two white lines and three dots.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find this spider?
It lives on the ground in many places, especially sandy habitats like heaths, dunes and chalk downlands, but also in salt-marsh, mossy woodland and other dry sites.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Gnaphosidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micaria_pulicaria
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-26 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-26.