There are a few different species of spiders that can have lime green coloring. Some of the most common lime green spiders include the green lynx spider, the green orb weaver, and some jumping spiders. The vivid green coloration serves as camouflage, helping the spiders blend in with leaves and plants as they hunt for prey.
Green Lynx Spider
The green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) is a bright green spider that is found throughout most of North America. As their name suggests, green lynx spiders have a vibrant lime green color that covers most of their body and legs. The underside of the abdomen may show some brownish or yellowish markings. Green lynx spiders have a legspan of about 1-2 inches across. They have eight eyes arranged in three rows on the front of the cylindrical cephalothorax. The eyes reflect green and whitish hues.
Green lynx spiders do not build webs for catching prey. Instead, they are active hunters that ambush insects and other small arthropods on plants. They have excellent eyesight and pounce rapidly to capture resting prey. Common food sources include flies, bees, butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, and caterpillars.
The green coloration provides the perfect camouflage as they wait on flowers and foliage to ambush unsuspecting prey. Their coloring blends seamlessly into the greens and yellows of leaves and plants. The vibrant green can fade to more dull greens or yellowish hues after molting or prior to dying. Green lynx spiders do not produce venom that is medically significant to humans.
Green Orb Weaver
There are a few different species of orb weaver spiders that can have green coloration. One is the green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans), which was already discussed. Another common green orb weaver is the green garden spider (Araneus marmoreus). This spider is found throughout North America hanging in its signature orb style web in gardens, fields, and forests.
The green garden spider has an oval shaped abdomen that is patterned with distinct white, yellow, and reddish markings overlaying the bright green background. The legs also have bands of black, yellow, and orange. Females range from about 3⁄4 to 1 1⁄2 inches in body length. Males are much smaller with a body size of 1⁄4 to 3⁄8 inches. The green garden spider has eight total eyes, with the front four eyes forming a trapezoid shape.
These spiders build large, intricate orb style webs that can measure two feet or more across! The webs often have stabilimenta decorations, which are zigzagged silken decorations in the center. It is theorized that these decorations serve to attract prey to the web, camouflage and conceal the spider, or strengthen the web. Green garden spiders eat a variety of insects that become trapped in their expansive webs such as beetles, flies, moths, butterflies, bees, wasps, and grasshoppers.
The bright green coloration allows them to blend in with foliage while waiting in the centers of their webs. After the first frost, the green garden spider will die off, but the egg sacs survive attached to vegetation. The spiderlings hatch in the spring and exhibit the vibrant green hues.
Jumping Spiders
There are some species of jumping spiders that can have lime green coloring as well. Jumping spiders are compact spiders with stout bodies that actively hunt prey. Unlike other types of spiders, jumping spiders have exceptional vision and primarily rely on their eyesight when hunting. Most species have four pairs of eyes, with one large pair facing forward to provide excellent vision. Jumping spiders do not build webs to trap prey. Instead, they slowly stalk prey before pouncing on them.
Some jumping spiders that can exhibit bright lime green hues include:
- Green lynx spider (Pelegrina flavipes)
- Green jumping spider (Myrmarachne formicaria)
- Twin-flagged jumper (Anasaitis canosa)
- Draconarius ruficapillus
The vibrant greens and occasional yellows or whites allow them to perfectly blend in with foliage and plants as they hunt. Their prey primarily consists of small insects and invertebrates. Jumping spiders have a small venomous bite but pose no threat to humans.
Why Are Some Spiders Lime Green?
So why have some spiders evolved such vibrant lime green coloration? The bright green hues serve as the ideal camouflage as the spiders hunt among leaves and plants. The green color allows them to blend in seamlessly to foliage in their habitat, waiting unseen for unsuspecting prey. The lime green color also mimics the appearance of green leaves and helps conceal the spider.
In addition to camouflage, some experts theorize that the green color may also help attract prey. Small insects flying by may mistake the green spider for part of a plant and fly closer to investigate. Other possibilities include that the green may serve as a signal to potential mates for some species.
The green color comes from bilin pigments that the spiders ingest as they feed on insects that contain these pigments. The bilins are broken down into color pigments that are then incorporated into the spider’s tissue as it molts and grows.
Some spiders can actually change color over their lifecycle. Young spiderlings may start off with a pale yellow color after hatching and molt into the bright green hues as they mature. The vivid lime green can also fade or take on a more yellowish tone as the spiders approach the end of their lifecycle.
Habitats Prone to Green Spiders
Lime green spiders are most frequently found living in areas with ample foliage and vegetation. They thrive in environments where their green coloration can provide camouflage while hunting and hiding from predators. Habitats where lime green spiders are commonly found include:
- Forests – especially tropical forests near the equator
- Jungles
- Grasslands
- Gardens, orchards, and landscaping vegetation
- Agricultural areas like crop fields
- Coastal regions with scrubby vegetation
- Deciduous trees and mixed forests
- Marshes and wetlands with abundant plants
Areas that contain an abundance of broad-leafed plants, shrubs, bushes, and trees provide ideal habitat for green spiders to camouflage themselves for hunting and evading predators. Lime green spiders will be less common in drier, desert-like habitats with sparse vegetation. They are predominantly found in more tropical and temperate regions.
Geographic Regions Where Green Spiders Live
In terms of geographic distribution, here are some of the general regions where vibrant green spiders can be found:
- North America – Green lynx spiders, green crab spiders, green orb weavers, and some jumping spiders are found from southern Canada through the United States and Mexico.
- Central and South America – More tropical regions harbor a greater diversity of bright green spiders like those in the Saitis genus.
- Africa – Savannas, rainforests, and deserts provide habitat for a variety of brilliant green spider species.
- Asia – Forest and jungle habitats from India to Indonesia support green colored spiders like the emerald lynx spider (Peucetia rubrolineata).
- Australia – Jumping spiders like the green huntsman spider exhibit vivid green hues and are found here.
In these regions, lime green spiders can thrive in warmer, humid climates with ample vegetation. Temperate forests, rainforests, and tropical habitats provide the right amount of foliage, prey, and environmental conditions to support vibrant green spiders.
Favorite Plants and Trees
Green spiders are highly adapted to living among leaves and plants. Some of the vegetation types that lime green spiders especially thrive on include:
- Broad-leafed trees and shrubs – Maples, oaks, ash trees, dogwoods, etc.
- Conifers – Especially younger trees with an abundance of needles.
- Grasses and cereal crops – Corn, wheat, rye, etc.
- Flowering plants – Spiderlings may congregate on colorful blooms while hunting.
- Ornamental shrubs – Rose bushes, hydrangea, azaleas.
- Fruit trees and orchards – Apples, peaches, citrus trees.
- Herbaceous plants – Ferns, ivies, vines.
Areas with a diversity of plants, especially broad-leafed deciduous trees, provide the structure and habitat where lime green spiders can thrive. The colors and shapes of the foliage allows their green hues to perfectly blend in.
Interesting Facts
Here are some additional interesting facts about these vibrant green spiders:
- The green coloration comes from ingesting bilins found in prey insects.
- Some species can actually change from green to yellow or white over their lifecycle.
- Green orb weavers build huge webs up to 2 feet across!
- Jumping spiders have incredible vision unlike most other spiders.
- Green spiders use their color to camouflage and attract prey.
- The green can fade or darken after molting or before death.
- Green spiders are harmless to humans.
- They thrive in warmer forests and jungles around the world.
This combination of camouflage coloration and preference for plant-rich habitats allows these spiders to thrive in ecosystems across the globe!
Conclusion
In summary, there are a variety of spiders that can exhibit brilliant lime green coloration. This includes orb weaving spiders like the green garden spider, jumping spiders such as the green huntsman, and ambush predators like the green lynx spider. The vivid green hues serve as camouflage to help the spiders remain unseen as they hunt for prey on plants. These spiders are predominantly found in warmer forested habitats around the world where their green color allows them to seamlessly blend in with leafy vegetation. While lime green spiders may give some people the creeps, they are harmless to humans and play an important role in their ecosystems as predators of insects.
