Spitting Spider
Scytodes thoracica
Scytodidae (Spitting Spiders), Order Araneae
Physical Description
The spitting spider has a distinctly domed, rounded carapace that slopes steeply downward toward the rear, housing specialized venom and silk glands. Its body is smooth and slightly glossy, with disproportionately long and delicate legs.
Size Estimate
Body length typically ranges from 3 to 6 millimeters, with a leg span around 15 to 20 millimeters. The specimen appears to be an adult.
Coloration & Markings
Typically yellowish-tan or light brown with characteristic dark brown or black spot patterns radiating across the domed carapace and faint banding on the slender legs.
Web Type
Spitting spiders do not build traditional webs to capture prey. Instead, they roam actively at night and construct small, messy retreat webs or hide in crevices during the day.
Eye Arrangement
Uniquely possesses six eyes arranged in three distinct pairs (dyads) forming a triangle on the front of the carapace, rather than the typical eight eyes of most spiders.
Leg Characteristics
Legs are very long, thin, and spindly with faint dark banding. They lack heavy spination and are held loosely while the spider actively hunts in a slow, deliberate manner.
Venom & Safety Information
Venom Information
Venom is mixed with rapid-hardening glue (silk) to mechanically pin and envenomate prey simultaneously. It is not dangerous to humans.
Medical Significance
Harmless to humans. Their chelicerae are generally too weak or too small to successfully pierce human skin, and they pose no medical threat whatsoever.
Safety Recommendations
Completely harmless and beneficial; no safety interventions are required. If removal is desired, gently cup a glass over the spider and slide a piece of paper underneath.
Habitat & Behavior
Habitat & Range
Widely distributed across the Holarctic region, including Europe and North America, frequently found indoors in human dwellings, dark corners, cellars, and beneath loose bark outdoors.
Behavior & Temperament
Nocturnal, slow-moving, and exceptionally docile. When hunting or defending, it exhibits the unique behavior of spitting a dual stream of venom and sticky silk to immobilize prey.
Diet & Prey
Feeds on a wide variety of small insects including silverfish, flies, ants, and other spiders, capturing them from a distance using its unique venom-silk spit.
Seasonal Activity
Active year-round indoors in climate-controlled environments, with heightened nocturnal foraging during the warmer spring and summer months.
Description
The spitting spider is one of the natural world's most fascinating hunters, utilizing a specialized physiological adaptation to spit sticky venom onto prey from a distance. With its signature domed head and leisurely gait, it is a harmless and beneficial nocturnal predator often found quietly patrolling indoor walls.
Key Features
Distinguished by its high, domed carapace, six eyes arranged in three pairs, elongated thin legs, and the unique hunting behavior of spitting venom-laced silk.
Similar Species
Can be confused with cellar spiders (Pholcidae) or male cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), but distinguished immediately by its domed head profile and distinctive six-eye arrangement.
Life Cycle
Females carry a small number of eggs in their chelicerae until the spiderlings hatch. Juveniles undergo several molts before reaching maturity, with a typical lifespan of 1.5 to 2 years.
Ecological Importance
Acts as an effective natural pest controller in homes and outbuildings by reducing populations of crawling household insects without any chemical intervention.
Conservation Status
Not evaluated by the IUCN, but populations are secure, widespread, and frequently cohabitate successfully with humans.
Interesting Facts
Spitting spiders are the only known animals with fused venom and silk glands that can project a sticky, toxic projectile to subdue prey from up to a centimeter away.
Photography Tips
Use macro lenses with a stable tripod and good side-lighting to capture the unique domed carapace shape and the distinctive spot markings on the body.
Identified: 2026-09-07T09:20:41.030585