Striped Lynx Spider (Female)

Oxyopes javanus Thorell, 1887, of family Oxyopidae, is a lynx spider with two pairs of diagonal white bands on the sides of the abdomen. This spotting is of a female guarding her egg sac on the underside of a leaf. It will guard the young for some time also.

Lynx spiders are hunting spiders that spend their lives on plants, flowers and shrubs. They are active and hunt during the daylight hours. The spider’s agility and speed when pouncing on its prey is often compared to the hunting methods of the lynx.

Oxyopidae in general rely on keen eyesight in stalking, chasing, or ambushing prey, and also in avoiding enemies. Six of their eight eyes are arranged in a hexagon-like pattern, a characteristic that identifies them as members of the family Oxyopidae. The other two eyes are smaller and generally situated in front and below the other six. They also have spiny legs, and in many species those legs, augmented by the spines, seem to be used as a sort of catching-basket in trapping flying insects.