Pseudeuophrys erratica (Walckenaer, 1826) - Jumping Spider

Pseudeuophrys erratica is a Palearctic spider and occurs from North Africa through Europe and across much of northern Asia. An introduced species here, it has been collected at several locales in the northeastern U.S. (see Cutler, 2008 below). In May 2010 I found and shot video of a jumping spider I had not observed before. The spider was foraging at the base of a dune along a barrier beach. Wayne Maddison suggested that it might be Pseudeuophrys erratica and this was confirmed by Heiko Metzner who referred me to a series of images on his website. In 2014 I found a small "colony" of these spiders on the external wall of a metal shed. I returned to the locale a dozen times between May and July to follow these spiders as they matured and in July observed and videotaped a gravid female. Pseudeuophrys erratica seems well established at this site and its numbers in Massachusetts will likely increase mirroring the success of several other synanthropic species in the state (see discussion under Sitticus fasciger and Cutler op cit.).
W. Maddison, pers. comm.; H. Metzner, pers. comm.; G.B. Edwards, pers. comm. - publication in prep.)

• ♦ D. Walton - Pseudeuophrys erratica - Essex (Ipswich - Sandy Point State Reservation) - 28 May 2010
• ♦ D. Walton - P.e. - Middlesex (Sudbury) - May - July 2014 - various specimens to G.B. Edwards and FSCA

Cutler, Bruce. 2008. Euophrys erratica (Walckenaer) New To North America. Peckhamia 53(1): 36.