Habitat

The Polygyridae family lives in most parts of Florida and other parts of the south east.  They live for the most part in mesic hardwood forests but some do live in xeric conditions like scrubland and coastal dunes.  They are comfortable with human development and are commonly found in residential areas.

Mesic forests in the south are primarily American Beech and sugar maple (Kost et al, 2007).  Mesic means that it has more moisture than most forests.  It is one step down from a rainforest.  The loam soil has a high water holding capacity which makes these forests mesic (Kost et al, 2007).  The soil keeps a constant nutrition level from decomposing leaves and wood debris (Kost et al, 2007).  The beech leafs also increase the soil acidity (Kost et al, 2007).  The diversity of these forests are due to the climate of the region more so than the specific site conditions (Harcombe, 1977).

Xeric conditions are the exact opposite of the previously mentioned mesic conditions.  There is very little rainfall and is full of sandy or rocky soil (Wikipedia.org, 2012).  It is much more difficult to live here which leaves much less organic material that grows and is decomposing in the soil.  Organisms in these conditions have to adapt to this arid climate in order to survive (Wikipedia.org, 2012).