Spider Pest Authority
Identification, venom, and range data
Identify
Family

Oxyopidae

Lynx spiders are agile, spiny-legged diurnal hunters that stalk and leap on prey among vegetation. The green lynx spider is a conspicuous bright green species of the southern United States and a significant predator in cotton and other row crops.

Diagnostic characters

  • Long legs bearing conspicuous erect black spines
  • Hexagonal eye arrangement
  • Tapering abdomen ending in a point
  • Bright green body with red or orange markings in Peucetia viridans
  • Female guards a spiky egg sac fixed to vegetation

Habitat and seasonality

Shrubs, tall herbaceous vegetation, cotton and soybean canopies, and prairie forbs.

Active late spring through autumn, with egg guarding in late summer.

Medical significance

Low. Peucetia viridans can eject venom as a fine spray up to roughly 20 cm when guarding eggs, which can cause transient ocular irritation.

Agricultural role

Peucetia viridans is one of the most abundant predators in southern cotton fields and is routinely recorded consuming bollworm and other lepidopteran pests. Its predation on pollinators has been noted as an offsetting factor, so the family's net contribution is context-dependent and is a recurring subject in integrated pest management literature.

Families most often confused with Oxyopidae

FamilyHow to separate it
SalticidaeJumping spiders have two large forward-facing eyes and shorter, stouter legs
ThomisidaeCrab spiders sit motionless and hold enlarged front legs laterally

References

  1. [1]World Spider Catalog, version 26 - Natural History Museum Bern. Accessed 2026-06-14.
  2. [2]Spiders of North America: An Identification Manual, 2nd ed. - American Arachnological Society. Accessed 2026-06-14.
  3. [3]Common Spiders of North America - University of California Press. Accessed 2026-06-14.