Venomous sharpshooters of intrigue – Issue #97

Hello Explorer,
This Sunday at church I was called to assist in catching a spider in the storeroom. At the time I was called, it was believed that the spider that I had to remove was a violin spider. As I spotted the spider, I realized that it wasn’t a violin spider, but something just as interesting and exciting.
A Spitting Spider (Scytodes: SCYTODIDAE) was making its way across the storeroom floor. Although this is not a violin spider, the colour patterns and resemblance in morphology makes that they are often mistaken for their dangerous counterpart.

A straightforward method to distinguish between the Violin spider and the Spitting spider is to observe the shape of their cephalothorax or prosoma (the front part of a spider’s body). The Spitting spider has a domed cephalothorax, whereas the Violin spider has a flattened one.

Spitting spiders are unique and unusual spiders with a few traits that are uncommon among other spiders. For example, they only have six eyes instead of the usual eight. Additionally, they are the only group of spiders that have silk glands in their prosoma, while all other spiders only have silk glands in their abdomen.
The aptly named Spitting spiders (even their scientific name, Scytodidae) reflect their distinctive hunting method. These spiders are nocturnal, cursorial predators, implying that they hunt prey during the night and are built for running. These hunters have a very specialised way in which they hunt their prey. They will roam around slowly, until they detect prey nearby, by touching it with one of their legs. When they locate the prey, they will spray it with silk, that is covered in glue and venom, from their fangs. The silk, glue, and venom mixture will stick their prey item to the substrate, preventing it from running away. The venom in the spit will paralyse the prey item, and the spider will then move in and give the prey a bite, injecting its venom. The venom will kill the prey item and liquify the insides of the prey. After the bite the spider will move away, out of harms way, and wait for the venom to kill the prey before moving in to enjoy its “bugshake”.
These spiders pose no threat to humans and are remarkably efficient hunters. Should you come across one within your home, I encourage you to capture with care and release it into your garden. Did you know that there are spiders that can truly spit its silk with glue like Spiderman? Have you ever encountered a Spitting spider? Have you seen any other species with such insane hunting techniques or something that is completely contradictory to the traits of the group they are in? What species was it and why do you remember it?

If you would like to send me a message with your answers, feel free to do so on Instagram or Twitter @abugmanslife or via email to [email protected].