Southeastern United States from North Carolina to Texas, down to the New World Tropics.
A small to medium-size jumping spider, 7-8 mm in body length (without legs) for females and 5-6 mm for males. Females are bright green with multiple pairs of small black dots on top of the abdomen. Males are shades of brown to green, with spots or stripes on top of the abdomen. Eyes are located on an orange-red mound on the top of the head.
Common in brushy, deciduous woodlands and also occur in suburban yards. They are often found on the underside of green leaves, which helps them camouflage well. The magnolia name comes from their habit of often being found on magnolia leaves, although they are found on other broadleaf trees as well.
Although they use silk lines during jumping and for building a nest, no web is built for prey capture. Like other members of the jumping spider family, they are diurnal and use their acute vision to pursue prey and then pounce on them at close range. Each eye can move independently and they will change color from green to black, depending on where the spider is looking. When the eyes are black, the spider is looking directly at you. Immature spiders feed heavily on insects such as chironomid midges, while adults consume larger prey, such as syrphid flies.
Individuals overwinter as sub-adults and then reach adulthood in early Spring. In Florida, mating occurs in May and females will lay eggs through early July and die off by August. She attaches the eggs to the underside of leaves with a sheet of silk, and then guards the eggs until hatching.
