Portia labiata is a jumping spider (family Salticidae) found in Sri Lanka, India, southern China, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, Singapore, Java, Sumatra and the Philippines.

A P. labiata from Los Baños instinctively detours round the back of S. pallida while with plucking the web in a way that makes the prey believe the threat is in front of it.

In areas where S. pallida is absent, the local members of P. labiata do not use this combination of deception and detouring for a stab in the back.

In a test to explore P. labiata′s ability to solve a novel problem, a miniature lagoon was set up, and the spiders had to find the best way to cross it.

[4]: 103-105  The carapaces of females are orange-brown, slightly lighter around the eyes, where there are sooty streaks and sometimes a violet to green sheen in certain lights.

[4]: 103-105  There is a broad white moustache along the bottom of the carapace, and running back from each main eye is a ridge that looks like a horn.

[5] Females' chelicerae are dark orange-brown and decorated with sparse white hairs, which form bands near the carapaces.

[4]: 103-105  All species of the genus Portia have elastic abdomens, so that those of both sexes can become almost spherical when well fed, and females' can stretch as much when producing eggs.

However, members of Portia have vision about as acute as the best of the jumping spiders, for example: the salticine Mogrus neglectus can distinguish prey and conspecifics up to 320 millimetres away (42 times its own body length), while P. fimbriata can distinguish these up to 280 millimetres (47 times its own body length).

[15] The main eyes of a Portia can also identify features of the scenery up to 85 times its own body length, which helps the spider to find detours.

[16]: 21 However, a Portia takes a relatively long time to see objects, possibly because getting a good image out of such tiny eyes is a complex process and needs a lot of scanning.

[2] Spiders, like other arthropods, have sensors, often modified setae (bristles), for smell, taste, touch and vibration protruding through their cuticle ("skin").

[2][3]: 432  When not joined to another spiders', a P. labiata female's capture web may be suspended from rigid foundations such as boughs and rocks, or from pliant bases such as stems of shrubs.

[3]: 440–441, 444 When catching an insect outside a web, a Portia sometimes lunges and sometimes uses a "pick up",[3]: 441  in which it moves its fangs slowly into contact with the prey.

[3]: 444 [d] The webs of spiders on which Portia species prey sometimes contain dead insects and other arthropods which are uneaten or partly eaten.

In addition to P. labiata, the table shows for comparison the hunting performances of P. africana, P. schultzi and three regional variants of P.

[28]: 335 Unlike the Queensland variant of P. frimbriata, P. labiata has no special tactics when hunting other jumping spiders.

[29]: 47 P. labiata will sometimes approach a translucent nest containing another spider, and will usually wait facing the prey for up to several hours.

In areas where S. pallida is absent, the local members of P. labiata do not use this combination of plucking other spiders' webs to deceive the prey and detouring for a stab in the back.

The authors suggest that, in the wild, nectar may be a frequent, convenient way to get some nutrients, as it would avoid the work, risks and costs (such as making venom).

Jumping spiders can benefit from amino acids, lipids, vitamins and minerals normally found in nectar.

[27]: 572–573 Females of many spider species, including P. labiata,[33]: 33 [6]: 517  emit volatile pheromones into the air, and these generally attract males from a distance.

[33]: 43 Pheromones may help to find jumping spiders' nests, which are usually hidden under rocks or in rolled leaves, making them difficult to be seen.

[24]: 343  A propulsive display is a series of sudden, quick movements including striking, charging, ramming and leaps.

Similar tests showed that females of P. fimbriata from Australia and P. schultzi from Kenya do not avoid draglines of a powerful fighter.

[39] For moulting, all species of Portia spin a horizontal web whose diameter is about twice the spider's body length and is suspended only 1 to 4 millimetres below a leaf.

[6]: 491  Molecular phylogeny, a technique that compares the DNA of organisms to reconstruct the tree of life, indicates that Portia is a member of the clade Spartaeinae, that Spartaeinae is basal (quite similar to the ancestors of all jumping spiders), that Portia′s closest relative is the genus Spartaeus, and that the next closest are Phaeacius and Holcolaetis.

[42]: 53 P. labiata is found in Sri Lanka, India, southern China, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, Singapore, Java, Sumatra and the Philippines.

[29]: 52 P. labiata features prominently in the science fiction Children of Time series by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

[3]: 455 d: ^ Except that the Queensland variant of Portia fimbriata generally uses a "cryptic stalking" technique which makes most salticids unaware of this predator.