Critters of the Week

Critters of the Week

A wild critter we spotted in the RVA area and a critter up for adoption by Richmond SPCA.

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Where Spotted: Westover Hills
Common Name: Magnolia Green Jumping Spider
Scientific Name: Lyssomanes viridis
Length: Female  up to 0.3 inches (0.8 cm)- Male specimen up to 0.25 inches (0.6 cm)

Quick Facts

  • As any jumping spider, the magnolia green jumper does not spin a web. While it does have the ability to produce silk it only uses this to produce safety lines during very audacious jumps to prevent a deep fall. Since the magnolia green jumper isn’t able to jump as far and high as some of its close relatives, it hardly ever uses this ability.
  • Magnolia green jumping spiders hardly bite any humans or pets. They are a very fast and shy species and generally rather escape then attack. In the rare cases that they bite a human or a larger pet, it is generally less severe than a bee sting and causes some local swelling at worst.
  • When males encounter each other, they will wave their forelegs and often approach one another until one of them retreats, with a physical fight resulting if neither retreats.
  • L. viridis subsists primarily on other species inhabiting plants, including mites, aphids, ants, and occasionally other spiders.
  • L. viridis is similar to most other salticids in having highly complex eyes and well-developed vision that is amongst the most acute of all arthropods, as well as complex visual cognition behaviors; the anterior median eyes have the telephoto quality for which jumping spiders are known, but also share features with the eyes of species that evolved earlier than salticids.

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Tigger at Richmond SPCA

Hi! My name is Tigger and I’m a cute, curious little lady looking for my place in this world and I hope that it’s with you! I love to play with toys and then have a cuddle session afterwards. I am quite silly and sure to keep you smiling with my antics. If you’d like to take me home, visit me at the Richmond SPCA today!

Age: 2 years,
Gender: Spayed Female
Color: Brown / Orange
ID: 47855995

Adopt Tigger at Richmond SPCA

Learn more about their adoption process.

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