About Evarcha falcata (Clerck, 1757)
Evarcha falcata is a species of medium-sized jumping spider that exhibits sexual dimorphism in size and coloration. Adult females reach a body length of approximately 5.0–7.7 millimetres (0.20–0.30 in), while adult males are slightly smaller, reaching a body length of about 4.3–5.9 millimetres (0.17–0.23 in). For males, the upper side of the cephalothorax (prosoma) is light brown on its anterior half, and dark brown or black on its back half. Wide, light beige or white stripes run behind the eyes and along the sides of the cephalothorax. The center of the male abdomen (opisthosoma) is light brown, bordered by black and white stripes. Males occasionally have an indistinct pattern of bright oblique spots on the abdomen, similar to the pattern seen in Evarcha arcuata; Evarcha arcuata can be distinguished by the longer white hairs on its face. The two central eyes on the male face are quite large. The frontal eye area is covered in light hairs, and the pedipalps are covered in longer light hairs. Male legs are light brown. Females have different coloration from males. Their cephalothorax and abdomen are densely covered with brown hairs, and lack any light, black, striped, or spotted markings. This species is found across the Palearctic realm, ranging from Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus, and Afghanistan through Russia to Kazakhstan and China. These jumping spiders prefer dry habitats, particularly sunny forest edges with dense vegetation, grasslands, shrubbery, clearings, and sparse woodlands.
