A jumping spider’s life is a short one no doubt. Although they don’t have a long lifespan, they seem to make the most of their life.
They are definitely some of the cutest spiders and have many different species that live around the world.
Different jumping spider species’ lifespans don’t vary too much from species to species as you will see in the table below when we look at eight common spiders and their lifespans.
Let’s take a deep dive and learn all about a jumping spider’s lifespan and even the life cycle of a jumping spider.
How Long Do Jumping Spiders Live?
Most jumping spiders have short lifespans and live between six months to two years. Females of most species will typically live longer than males.
Their lifespan depends on several factors like the environment they live in, their species, and their sex.
Although there isn’t much difference between the lifespans of various species, check out the table below to get a better idea of the lifespans of some of the more common jumping spiders like bold jumpers and regal jumpers.
Jumping Spider Lifespan Table
Below is a table that lists the average and maximum lifespan of eight common jumping spider species.
| Jumping Spider Species | Average Lifespan | Maximum Lifespan |
|---|---|---|
| Bold Jumping Spider | 12 to 24 months | 3 years |
| Elegant Golden Jumping Spider | 8 to 24 months | 2 years |
| Giant Jumping Spider | 10 to 24 months | 2 years |
| Heavy Jumping Spider | 10 to 24 months | 2 years |
| Regal Jumping Spider | 12 to 24 months | 2 years |
| Tan Jumping Spider | 8 to 12 months | 2 years |
| White-Mustache Jumping Spider | 12 to 24 months | 3 years |
| Zebra Jumping Spider | 10 to 24 months | 2 years |
Although these are the average life expectancies of the more common jumper spiders, their lifespans depend on many factors and may be less than the average listed above for an individual spider.
While jumping spiders may not live as long as the average listed above, there aren’t many jumping spiders that live to be beyond two years old and rarely ever three years old.
They tend to die within one to two years regardless of the species and their environment.
Life Cycle of a Jumping Spider (3 Stages)
There are three main stages of a jumping spider’s life before they die. They go from eggs to being spiderlings and then finally to adulthood before their life is over (if they are lucky enough to survive that long).
1st Stage) Embryotic
The first stage of a jumping spider’s life is the egg stage. In this stage, once mating has been completed, females will store sperm until it is time to produce eggs.
The female spider will build a strong egg sac from her silk that will help keep the eggs safe from the outside environment. As she deposits the eggs into the egg sac, she will fertilize them.
One egg sac can contain between 30 to 200 eggs and the female spider can lay up to six clutches in the summer months.
From there, the eggs will hatch in a few weeks – and then comes the spiderling (baby spider) stage.
2nd Stage) Spiderling
The spiderling stage is the stage of immature, baby, or young spiders. After emerging from the eggs, they enter the spiderling stage and will be in this stage until they reach sexual maturity.
After emerging from the eggs, spiderlings will either walk or do what is called ballooning or kiting. To balloon, spiders release a thread in the air to catch the wind, which causes them to become airborne.
Ballooning will help the spiders cover short distances but some may be carried considerably longer distances depending on the force of the wind.
Not all spiders use this method and some just walk after coming out of the eggs.
Spiderlings will molt an average of five to six times before reaching maturity. During this stage, spiderlings are very vulnerable because they have no exoskeleton to help protect them until the molting process is complete.
3rd Stage) Sexually Maturity
Once jumping spiders reach the sexual maturity stage, they are ready to begin the mating process and start the circle of life all over again with new offspring before they die.
Some males may die after mating and females tend to live longer than the males.
How Long Do Pet Jumping Spiders Live?
While most wild jumping spiders have a lifespan between 6 months to 2 years, pet jumping spiders can live up to 3 years with the proper care and diet.
So if you are looking for a cute and small pet that won’t live for a very long time, a jumping spider might be the pet for you with its short lifespan.
Jumping Spider Life Expectancy vs Other Spiders
Most spiders – regardless of the species – don’t live longer than two years. So a jumping spider’s lifespan isn’t any different than most other spider species.
However, some spiders have been able to live for twenty years and longer in captivity. Males generally have a shorter lifespan than females regardless of species.
Tarantulas are the longest-living spiders with a lifespan between 10 to 35 years, with the females of the species living longer than the males.
But jumping spiders are not a part of that group because the oldest jumping spider that lived the longest was nowhere near that age.
Where Do Jumping Spiders Live the Longest?
There hasn’t been enough data to determine where in the world jumping spiders live the longest.
What is known is that most captive jumping spiders will outlive wild jumpers on average.
Captive jumping spiders can live around 3 years while most in the wild will die before they reach two years of age.
Longest Living Jumping Spider
The longest-living jumping spider on record lived to only be just three years old. So as you can see, their life expectancy isn’t very high.
The longest-living jumping spider was a female and a member of the bold jumping spider species (Phidippus audax).
Recap
To recap – jumping spiders don’t have a very long life (six months to two years) but seem to accomplish what they need to within their short lifespan.
They go from being in an egg to becoming little spiderlings and then reaching adulthood. Once they are sexually mature and mate, the process starts all over again.
Males typically have a shorter lifespan than females and some will die after mating. Pet jumping spiders have a slightly longer lifespan in captivity, with some reaching the age of three before they die.
The oldest jumping spider only lived to be 3 years old, so they don’t typically outlast some other spider species that can live for 20 years or longer.
That’s all I have! I hope this article was informative and helped you learn more about jumping spiders and their lifespan.
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