[4] The species name is derived from Latin adjective inclēmens "cruel, harsh" or "rough".

[4] Spiders are chelicerates, which differ from other arthropods in that the usual body segments are fused into only two tagmata, the cephalothorax and abdomen.

[8]: 571-574  While most jumping spiders do not build webs to catch prey, they use silk for other purposes,[9] including molting and laying eggs.

[11] Unlike most arthropods, spiders have no extensor muscles in their limbs and instead extend them by increasing their blood pressure.

[8] Behind the mouth is a pair of pedipalps ("palps" for short),[7] and those of male spiders are quite large and are used for displaying and mating.

The first and fourth pairs of legs are then used to groom other parts of the body, and the only place they appear not to reach is the dorsal surface of the carapace.

[3]: 2  A female of Maevia inclemens is 6.5 to 8.0 millimetres (0.26 to 0.31 in) long,[3]: 3-4  her carapace is light brown, her legs are pale and unmarked.

The top of her abdomen is chalky[3]: 3-4  or rusty colored,[2] and along each side is a black band, often thinly covered with orange scales.

[3]: 3-4  Males are 4.75 to 6.50 millimetres (0.187 to 0.256 in) long, and their carapaces are light to dark brown, with a black line around the edge.

[2] Before looking for a mate, a male spider spins a small, flat web on a surface and ejaculates into it.

[14]: 161-162  In contrast, the gray morph crouches down and points the foremost two pairs of legs directly forward, crosses the tips of the legs creating a triangle-like configuration, holds his orange-colored palps beneath his forward eyes, and glides back and forth in stationary or receding semi-circles in front of the female, [16]: 95  at 3 centimetres (1.2 in) away.

[16]: 95, 98 When receptive, females respond similarly to both male types: approach and settle; extend the foremost pair of legs or tap with them.

[16]: 99  Both male morphs typically end their initial display and start leg-clapping and zig-zag dancing.

[2] Maevia inclemens is found throughout the eastern and mid-western United States and south-eastern Canada, including: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York state, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin,[3]: 4  Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba.

[17][18] A study reported in 1981 on one mature and three recently clear-cut sites in the southern Appalachian Mountains near Highlands, North Carolina.