Lynx spiders are named for their catlike speed and agility. They are running spiders and do not build webs. The overall color may be green, tan, brown, gray, rusty, or other camouflage colors. Some are shiny. The legs are relatively long and slender and have numerous, prominent spines. The carapace (head) is somewhat rectangular or rounded, longer than wide, and high. The abdomen is oval and pointed at the hind end. The face, between the eyes and the mouthparts, appears flat and high.
The eye arrangement is usually a good ID character for the different groups of spiders. In lynx spiders, 6 of the 8 eyes are arranged in a hexagonal pattern on a hump at the front of the carapace, so the spider can see all around its body. The other 2 eyes are much smaller and face forward, positioned at the base of the hump.
- One common representative in Missouri is the striped lynx spider, Oxyopes salticus. The body length is about ¼ inch. Colors are drab (greenish gray, tan, brown, or rusty), and females often have brown- or white-striped bodies. The legs have many long black spines. Males have shiny, mostly unmarked bodies, and black, fuzzy-looking palps (looking something like black boxing gloves) beside their mouthparts. It lives in fields and grasslands, among grasses and forbs. It is widely distributed in North America, with its range extending into Canada.
- Two other lynx spiders found in Missouri are one named Oxyopes aglossus and the western lynx spider (Oxyopes scalaris). Both are fairly drab species that are tan or yellowish with darker brown markings.
Length (not including appendages): Missouri’s representatives only to about ¼ inch, with males slightly smaller. Elsewhere, the bodies of some species can be about 1 inch long.
Statewide.
Habitat and Conservation
Lynx spiders are abundant and widespread, typically found among foliage, grasses, and flowers. Look for them in fields, prairies, gardens, and other open grassland or weedy habitats.
Food
Like other spiders, lynx spiders capture and subdue insects using a venomous bite.
Lynx spiders are noted for their ability to run quickly and jump after their prey, the way a lynx or other cat might. They may catch flying insects by jumping into the air and nabbing them.
As with jumping spiders (family Salticidae), wolf spiders (Lycosidae), and crab spiders (Thomisidae), their eyesight is good.
Some species lie in wait near flowers or other places attractive to insects.
Lynx spiders do not build webs to capture prey.
Life Cycle
Lynx spiders, like other spiders, emerge from egg sacs, then disperse, eat, grow, and go through a number of molts before reaching maturity. Then they mate, and the females create egg sacs. Lynx spider mothers show a high degree of parental care, guarding the egg cases, and often not eating while they maintain this vigil, even to the point of starvation.
Human Connections
Lynx spiders have been used as biological control agents in agriculture, since they prey on crop pests. However, these spiders also consume bees and other pollinators. Like many other predators that eat insects, they are rather indiscriminate about the prey they capture, subduing and eating whatever insects they can manage.
The family name, Oxyopidae, is pronounced oxy-OH-pid-ee. It is from Greek roots and means “sharp-eyed,” a good name for these fast, visual predators that hunt by day or by night.
Ecosystem Connections
Lynx spiders are ecologically significant in fields and grasslands, preying on a variety of insects and being preyed upon by a variety of birds, reptiles, and other insectivores.
The bright, vivid greens of some types of lynx spiders would seem to make them stand out, but like the bright yellows of warblers, those are indeed perfect camouflage hues against the bright green leaves of midsummer.
Members of the lynx spider family are most numerous and diverse in tropical and subtropical regions. Most of the species that occur in North America live in warmer, southern states.
