![]() ![]() Web-building spiders construct webs in calm, undisturbed places to capture their food. Published: November 2001.Spiders are closely related to mites, ticks and scorpions and are collectively known as arachnids.īoth spiders and insects are arthropods, meaning their skeletons are on the outside of their bodies (exoskeleton). ![]() EENY-249 Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Green Lynx Spider, Peucetia viridans (Hentz) (Arachnida: Araneae: Oxyopidae). ![]() "Green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) envenomation". Venom spitting by the green lynx spider, Peucetia viridans (Araneae, Oxyopidae). "Evolution and ecology of spider coloration". However, they also prey on beneficial insects, such as honey bees. The spiders have been observed to hunt several moth species and their larvae, including some of the most important crop pests, such as the bollworm moth ( Helicoverpa zea), the cotton leafworm moth ( Alabama agrillacea), and the cabbage looper moth ( Trichoplusia ni). The species is primarily of interest for its usefulness in agricultural pest management, for example in cotton fields. The green lynx spider very seldom bites humans, and when it does, its venomous bite, though painful, is not deadly but it has caused a 25 mm (0.98 in) surrounding swelling ( edema) in one patient and lasted two days, and a 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) in diameter swelling in another patient. They pass through eight instars to reach maturity. The eggs hatch after about two weeks, and after another two weeks fully functional spiderlings emerge from the sac. Remarkably, one of her means of defense is to squirt (spit) venom from her chelicerae, sometimes for a distance of about a foot (300 mm). The female constructs one to five 2-centimeter (0.8 in) egg sacs in September and October, each containing 25 to 600 bright orange eggs, which she guards, usually hanging upside down from a sac and attacking everything that comes near. Gravid females may change their color to fit their background. Late in the season Peucetia viridans is prone to change its colour from predominantly green to paler yellow, typically with streaks of reddish, suggesting degradation of the tetrapyrrole pigment in the blood. Peucetia viridans is confusingly similar to Peucetia longipalpis, the other Peucetia species to occur in the United States, but Peucetia longipalpis tends to have a shorter, fatter, more domed abdomen, with less pronounced markings in its upper surface. The legs are green to yellow, bearing long black spines such as appear on the legs of most species of Oxyopidae, and with a generous scattering of black spots. The dorsal surface of the abdomen bears about six Chevron-like marks with the centres pointing forward. The eye region is clothed with white appressed hairs. There often is a red patch between the eyes, with a few red spots on the body. The male is smaller, being more slender and averaging 12 millimeters (0.47 in) in length. The body of the female may be as much as 22 millimeters (0.87 in) long. This spider is common in the southern U.S., Mexico, Central America, and in many West Indies islands, especially Jamaica. It is the largest North American species in the family Oxyopidae. Peucetia viridans, the green lynx spider, is a bright-green lynx spider usually found on green plants. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |