scallop-banded spider

scallop-banded spider (Pisaurina mira) [plain form] [striped form]
Photo © Hank Guarisco

FEATURES
The scallop-banded spider has a yellow-brown body with a broad, dark stripe along the center. On the abdomen the edges of this stripe are scalloped and outlined with white. The eight eyes are circled with black and arranged in two rows. Legs are long and tapered. The female is one-half to three-fourths inch in length. The male is slightly smaller.

BEHAVIORS
The scallop-banded spider may be found statewide in Illinois. It is a common resident of forests and grasses at the edge of forests. This spider does not build a web to catch prey. It roams about hunting prey. The female carries the egg sac with her until the young spiders emerge, then builds a nursery web for them in herbaceous plants or shrubs. She guards the web until the young spiders leave it, usually in about one week.

​​Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Pisauridae