About Hyllus brevitarsis Simon, 1902
Hyllus brevitarsis Simon, 1902 is a species of jumping spider belonging to the family Salticidae. It is native to Africa, and is commonly called the brown Hyllus jumping spider. This species is distributed across multiple African countries: Botswana, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. In South Africa, it has been recorded in Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West provinces.
In terms of habitat and ecology, H. brevitarsis rests stationary and pressed flat against surfaces, where it resembles a honey bee in both size and the striped orange and black pattern of its abdomen. Specimens of this species have only ever been collected in late spring and summer. In South Africa, it has been sampled from multiple biomes including Fynbos, Forest, Grassland, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Savanna and Thicket, at altitudes between 7 m and 1303 m. It has also been found in avocado, lemon and macadamia orchards. This medium-sized spider is occasionally collected by beating the foliage of shrubs and trees in various savanna and floodplain habitats. Some specimens have been taken from retreats built on the underside of leaves of Sansevieria hyacinthoides plants. One female specimen was taken from a silk retreat built inside a grass inflorescence.
