Carrhotus xanthogramma
Carrhotus xanthogramma is a species of 'jumping spiders' belonging to the family Salticidae. Distribution. Its distribution is palearctic, including a portion of Europe (Portugal, Spain, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece), in Turkey, Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Russia, China, Mongolia, South Korea and Japan. Habitat. These thermophilic spiders prefer sunny, warm environments. They can mainly be encountered on bushes, on tree trunks and shrubbery. Description. The adult males of these jumping spiders reach approximately of length, while females can reach a body length  of about . These spiders are covered with dense hair. The sexual dimorphism of this species is pronounced. The males are smaller than females. They have a black bright cephalothorax (prosoma) and an hairy, flattened and tapered, reddish-orange abdomen (opisthosoma). The separation between cephalothorax (prosoma) and abdomen (opisthosoma) is well marked. Their black legs may have slightly orange rings. Palps are black haired. The female's body, according to the mimicry strategy, is mostly brownish, with dark brown markings. There is a yellowish area on a blackish front head, that includes an arcuate bandage extending from one side-eye to  the other, encircling the entire back of the fore-body. The abdomen is oval and slightly tapered. It is predominantly yellowish, with narrow, dark brownish longitudinal V-shaped stripes and spots. Legs are light-dark annulated. Palps are light brown with long white hairs. They have eight eyes with very large anterior median eyes. Biology. Adults can be found in spring and summer, from April to July. They actively pursue their preys, jumping on them. Their eyesight is excellent and very useful in their way of hunting.