The zebra spider, Salticus scenicus, is a common jumping spider. Like other jumping spiders, it does not build a web. It uses its four pairs of large eyes to locate prey and its jumping ability to pounce and capture it. Zebra spiders are often noted for their awareness of humans. Upon noticing someone observing them, they can be seen raising their head, and usually change behavior (hence why salticus scenius, theatrical jumper).
Read more about Zebra Spider: Description, Distribution, Taxonomic History
Famous quotes containing the words zebra and/or spider:
“Apeneck Sweeney spreads his knees
Letting his arms hang down to laugh,
The zebra strips along his jaw
Swelling to maculate giraffe.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“But chief to heedless flies the window proves
A constant death; where gloomily retired,
The villain spider lives, cunning and fierce,
Mixture abhorred! Amid a mangled heap
Of carcases in eager watch he sits,
O’erlooking all his waving snares around.”
—James Thomson (1700–1748)