Oak Jumping Spider

Ballus chalybeius

"Ballus chalybeius" is a jumping spider. It is the type species of the genus "Ballus".
Oak Jumping Spider (Ballus chalybeius) This was a pleasant first discovery in my garden, today (1/05/24) a locally common species in the south east of England, but otherwise nationally scarce. A fairly small jumping spider, females measure 3 to 4 mm, males 2.5 to 3.5 mm. This male is displaying the usual black-brown with light markings over the carapace and abdomen. The legs pale with a black spiral pattern. The front pair are greatly thickened have a distinctive red section. The palps are black-brown with white hairs at the tip. The female is similar but more brown than black and without the red section on the front legs. Ballus chalybeius favours a woodland habitat where it spins a retreat on the upper surface of leaves of bushes and young trees, particularly Oak. In fact this species is unusual in that it can only be found in trees and bushes, not on the ground or man-made constructions. Adults are found mainly from late spring to mid-summer. Ballus chalybeius,Geotagged,Spring,United Kingdom

Appearance

This flattened spider can reach a length of 3–4 millimetres. The prosoma is dark brown in females, with irregular lighter markings. The lightly yellow legs have dark rings in both sexes. In males, which are generally darker, the first legs are dark and thickened. The species is similar to "Ballus rufipes", which is smaller and much darker.

Naming

The species name is derived from Ancient Greek "chalyb-" "steel".

Distribution

"Ballus chalybeius" occurs in Europe, North Africa to Central Asia.

Habitat

It can be found mostly on the fringes of deciduous forests, on broad-leaved bushes and trees, particularly oaks, and in the grass. In Central Europe, they are widely distributed and in most areas quite common.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassArachnida
OrderAraneae
FamilySalticidae
GenusBallus
SpeciesB. chalybeius
Photographed in
United Kingdom