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Green lynx spider

Peucetia viridans

Description:

Peucetia viridans, the green lynx spider, is a conspicuous bright-green spider found on shrubs. It is the largest North American lynx spider. The female reaches a body length of 22 millimeters; the more slender male averages 12 millimeters. There usually is a red patch between the eyes, with red spots over the body. The eye region is clothed with white appressed hairs. The legs are green to yellow, with very long black spines, and covered with black spots. It is rather similar to P. longipalpis, the other Peucetia species to occur in the United States. Gravid females are able to change their color to fit their background. This takes about 16 days. The female constructs one to four 2-centimeter 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. The eggs hatch after about two weeks, and after another two weeks fully functional spiderlings emerge from the sac. They pass through eight instars to reach maturity. This non venomous spider is usually found on foliage. The green lynx spider very seldom bites humans, and its bite is harmless[ though painful. It is primarily of interest for its use in agricultural pest management, for example in cotton fields. 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, the cotton leafworm moth and the cabbage looper moth . However, they also prey on beneficial insects, such as honey bees.

Habitat:

Meadow.

Notes:

I'm not 100% sure if this is Peucetia viridans or the very similar looking P. longipalpis.

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7 Comments

KarenL
KarenL 11 years ago

Thanks Viv!
Cindy, thank you too - it's taken me a while to get the hang of it but I have been getting plenty of practice! This was a great subject as i stayed completely motionless - most of the spiders I try to snap give me the runaround!

VivBraznell
VivBraznell 11 years ago

Wow! What a beauty!

CindyBinghamKeiser
CindyBinghamKeiser 11 years ago

Beautiful Karen. Looks like you got the hang of your macro converter!

KarenL
KarenL 11 years ago

Thank you Maria!

Maria dB
Maria dB 11 years ago

Nice one!

KarenL
KarenL 11 years ago

Thanks Courtney!

courtneyhitson
courtneyhitson 11 years ago

Awesome!

KarenL
Spotted by
KarenL

Franklin, Tennessee, USA

Spotted on Apr 16, 2012
Submitted on Apr 17, 2012

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