''Oxyopes salticus'' is a species of

lynx spider Lynx spider (Oxyopidae) is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1870. Most species make little use of webs, instead spending their lives as hunting spiders on plants. Many species frequent flowers in particular, ...

, commonly known as the striped lynx spider, first described by Hentz in 1845. Its habitat tends to be grasses and leafy vegetation; grassy, weedy fields, and row crops.Brady 1964

Description

Adult specimens have some color variation between orange, cream and brown. Adult females typically have stripes on both the carapace and abdomen, though on many specimens, the stripes are more pronounced on the abdomen. There is a generally a diamond cardiac mark, and macrosetae covering legs I-IV. There is a broad clypeus. Adult females range in size from ~5-6mm, and adult males range in size ~4-5mm.

Range

Eastern United States from Massachusetts and Iowa south to Florida and Texas, along Mexican border, north along Pacific coast to Oregon. Also much of South and Central AmericaBrady 1964 Recently, ''O.salticus'' has been found in great numbers on the

Big Island of Hawai'i Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of t ...

as well as the island of

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

(see picture to the right).Insects of Hawai'i Website

Agricultural importance

A number of authors (Brady 1964, Laster and Brazzel 1968, McDaniel et al. 1981, Young and Lockley 1985) have noted the importance of Oxyopids as a major predator of economically important agricultural pests. In 1961, Kayashima released 45,000 ''O. sertatus'' spiders into a ''

Cryptomeria ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' L ...

'' forest in Japan (in a test plot) and noted a 53% reduction in damage by the

gall midge Cecidomyiidae is a family of flies known as gall midges or gall gnats. As the name implies, the larvae of most gall midges feed within plant tissue, creating abnormal plant growths called galls. Cecidomyiidae are very fragile small insects us ...

''Contarinia inouyei''.Kayashima 1961 Other studies in India (Sharma & Sarup, 1979; Rao ''et al''., 1981) have noted similar results.Young & Lockley 1985 However, some studies note that ''O. salticus'' (and other Oxyopids) also prey on beneficial insects (e.g., bees and other pollinators), so their importance in pest control is somewhat questioned.Weems 2001

Gallery

File:Oxyopes salticus Kaldari 01.jpg, ''O. salticus'' male. File:Oxyopes salticus Kaldari 02.jpg, ''O. salticus'' male (oblique) File:Oxyopes salticus spider 02.jpg , on Okra stem File:Oxyopes salticus spider 01.jpg , on Okra leaf File:Striped lynx spider (Oxyopes salticus) captured at night.jpg, Captured at night

Footnotes

References

* (2009)
The world spider catalog
version 9.5. ''American Museum of Natural History''. * Brady, A.A. (1964). The lynx spiders of North America, North of Mexico (Araneae: Oxyopidae). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 131: 429–518. * Kayashima, I. (1961). Study of the lynx spider, Oxyopes sertatus L. Koch, for biological control of the crytomerian leaf fly (Contarina inouyei Mani). Review of Applied Entomology, Series A, 51. 413. * Weems, H. V. Jr. and Whitcomb, W. H. Green Lynx Spider, ''Peucetia viridans'' (Hentz) (Arachnida: Araneae: Oxyopidae). EENY-249 Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Published: November 2001. Revised March 2011. * Young, O.P.; Lockley T.C.(1985). The striped lynx spider,Oxyopes salticus raneae: Oxyopidae in agroecosystems. ''Entomophaga'' 30(4): 329–346
Abstract
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2326779 Oxyopidae Spiders of North America Spiders of Central America Spiders of South America Spiders described in 1845