Spitting Spider
Scytodes thoracica
Scytodidae (Spitting Spiders), Order Araneae. Key family characteristics include a domed carapace that houses specialized venom-and-silk glands.
Physical Description
Features a notably domed, high-arched carapace (cephalothorax) which is larger than typical for spiders, designed to accommodate oversized venom and silk glands. The abdomen is oval, soft, and somewhat globular, giving the spider a distinctively humped profile.
Size Estimate
Body length typically ranges from 3 to 6 millimeters (0.12 to 0.24 inches) with a leg span around 15 to 25 millimeters. This appears to be an adult specimen.
Coloration & Markings
Pale yellowish-brown to grayish base color with characteristic dark brown or blackish spots, stripes, and patterns arranged in a tiger-like or mottled layout across both the carapace and abdomen.
Web Type
Spitting spiders do not spin traditional capture webs. They are wandering hunters that construct loose, temporary silk retreats only when resting or brooding.
Eye Arrangement
Unusually, they possess only six eyes instead of the typical eight, arranged in three dyads (pairs) forming a semi-circle on the front of the head.
Leg Characteristics
Long, slender legs featuring dark banding. They lack specialized claw tufts or heavy spination, relying instead on delicate tactile hairs for navigation and hunting.
Venom & Safety Information
Venom Information
Venom is combined directly with specialized adhesive silk, serving a dual purpose to immobilize and envenomate prey simultaneously. It is potent to small insects.
Medical Significance
Harmless to humans. Their chelicerae are too small and weak to pierce human skin, and they are completely non-aggressive.
Safety Recommendations
No safety measures or removal are necessary as they are completely harmless to humans. If relocation is desired, gently guide the spider into a container using a piece of paper.
Habitat & Behavior
Habitat & Range
Found globally in temperate and tropical regions. In human habitations, they prefer dark, quiet indoor spaces such as cellars, bathrooms, and behind furniture, while outdoors they inhabit leaf litter and under loose bark.
Behavior & Temperament
Nocturnal, slow-moving, and extremely docile. They rely entirely on their unique active hunting strategy rather than webs to secure food.
Diet & Prey
Feeds on a wide variety of small insects, including silverfish, mosquitoes, and other spiders. They capture prey by spitting a zig-zag pattern of sticky, venomous silk from their chelicerae to pin prey to a surface.
Seasonal Activity
Active year-round indoors, with peak outdoor foraging and mating activity occurring during the warmer spring and summer months.
Description
The spitting spider is one of the most fascinating architectural wonders in the arachnid world, notable for its domed head and unique ability to project a venomous, sticky silk from its mouthparts to instantly immobilize unsuspecting prey from a distance.
Key Features
Distinguished by its notably high-domed, humped carapace, six eyes arranged in pairs, mottled tiger-like markings, and the absence of a traditional capture web.
Similar Species
Can be confused with cellar spiders (Pholcidae) or small cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), but can be definitively separated by the highly domed cephalothorax and the presence of six eyes instead of eight.
Life Cycle
Females produce a small, loosely spun egg sac containing around 20 to 50 eggs, which she carries around in her jaws until the spiderlings hatch and disperse.
Ecological Importance
Acts as an effective natural pest controller in homes and gardens, keeping populations of small household insects and other arthropods in check.
Conservation Status
Not evaluated by the IUCN, but populations are stable and widespread globally, often benefiting from human habitation.
Interesting Facts
They are one of the few animals capable of combining venom and silk into a single projectile fluid, discharging it through modified fangs in a rapid zig-zag motion in less than 1/70th of a second.
Photography Tips
Use macro lenses with a ring flash or side lighting to highlight the domed carapace and distinctive mottled pattern. Patience is required due to their slow, methodical movements.
Identified: 2026-09-07T09:28:00.551216