My husband and I found some spiders in our front yard this weekend and we
don't know what they are.
They are dark brown, about the size of a quarter and one had a large white
bubble behind the body, not under it. In another part of the yard we found
the babies, lots of very small spiders all with the white bubble.
Can you tell me anything about this spider?
Thank you
Spitting Spider
Summary: Spiders in the genus Scytodes are peculiar in many ways. They are known as spitting spiders because they shoot a venomous silk from their fangs that immobilizes their prey.
If ever there was to be a cartoon, the spitting spider should be the model. Imagine a spider that can spit a gummy substance to plaster its prey against a wall. Wiley Coyote needs this trick to capture the evasive roadrunner.
Spitting spiders are small, measuring less than a quarter inch in length and they are slow, too. So, what's a tiny, slow spider to do? He spits, of course. Most spiders have silk glands in their abdomen. They use the gland to make silk that is used to build webs and to protect their egg cases. Spitting spiders also have a silk gland, but they use their silk glands to spit silk from large
 credit: M. Schmitt |
holes in their small fangs enabling them to capture prey much larger than itself. The tiny spiders can spit silk a maximum of 60mm or over two inches. This is ten times the length of their body. The spit covers the victim in about 1/600th of a second. I said they moved slowly, but they spit faster than a speeding bullet.
Spitting spiders vary in color by species, but the most commonly found spitting spider in the USA inhabits New Mexico. It is yellow with black spots on its back like a panther, and black rings around its legs. The spider is not dangerous to humans because its jaws are too small to bite through our skin.
 Spitting spider web in flight |
Most spitting spiders are not social and will spit on each other until one or the other is immobilized. Then, of course, it's lunchtime. But, one group of spitting spiders in Madagascar is known to be a social spider. They live in small groups, building webs in trees, using sticky silk to weave together groups of leaves. The social behavior is very rare in spiders. For the spitting spiders, this social behavior probably benefits them in two ways. Building larger nests help them to capture more prey, and when they attack prey that is too large for one spider to handle on its own, the other spiders in the colony can help out by adding their own sticky, silk streams of spit to the capture effort.
If you've got a minute or two to kill, click here to go to the spitting spider game.
Comments
Sheree
18 May 2009, 09:55
18 May 2009, 09:55
Ask the Exterminator
18 May 2009, 10:27
18 May 2009, 10:27
Cannot make an ID without a picture. I can tell you that the bubble may
have been an egg sac and I can also tell you that spiders are prolific,
numbering nearly one million spiders per acre.
Chris Seay
04 Jun 2009, 14:43
04 Jun 2009, 14:43
I'm wondering what kind of spider this is that I killed. I trapped it. It
spit on the glass vase and I killed it with raid. It was just sitting on
the carpet where my son plays before I killed it. It had brown stipes on
the side. What is it? I'd like to send you a picture. Please write back
so I can.
Ask the Exterminator
04 Jun 2009, 14:45
04 Jun 2009, 14:45
send it to rsteinau@aceext.com
jackie
06 Jun 2009, 04:30
06 Jun 2009, 04:30
I have something that looks like that but the marking on the but of it
arent exactly the same... Its has the striped legs like that and it has
close to the same brown marking but they are a little different... MABYE
its just a younger spider or something.. what do u think?
Keith
06 Jun 2009, 15:02
06 Jun 2009, 15:02
How do you get rid of spit spiders on your plants? is there some kind of
spray, powder, or soil solution to remove an infestation?
Ask the Exterminator
07 Jun 2009, 08:22
07 Jun 2009, 08:22
Any garden pesticides will do the trick. There are many non-toxic
insecticidal soaps and sprays containing oil of wintergreen and the like
that will also work. Just remember, spiders eat plant damaging insects. Are
you sure you want them gone?
Tahg
07 Jun 2009, 21:05
07 Jun 2009, 21:05
I was spit on a while ago by a Daddy Long Leg also called in the south a
spit devil why do they spit and what can it harm?
Steveanna Stallaby
14 Jun 2009, 15:08
14 Jun 2009, 15:08
My mom has what she thinks is spiders or some type of bug in her ceiling
that has left a blackish brown residue on the ceiling that resembles water
damage.
Do you know of a spider that might do this or do you have any ideas as to what this could be.
Thank you for your input.
Do you know of a spider that might do this or do you have any ideas as to what this could be.
Thank you for your input.
Ask the Exterminator
18 Jun 2009, 22:30
18 Jun 2009, 22:30
It could be any number of insects leaving their fecal droppings.
tammy
08 Jul 2009, 11:45
08 Jul 2009, 11:45
we found a ssubstance in our bushes that looks like spit and in it is a
spider of some sort do you know what it is. i trapped it and put it in a
plastic bag and it has started moving . its brown and almost looks like it
could be a ladybug.
Ask the Exterminator
08 Jul 2009, 11:49
08 Jul 2009, 11:49
No idea!
Tony
20 Sep 2009, 02:08
20 Sep 2009, 02:08
I've made a Positive ID on a spitting spider but i reside in Australia and
wondered if there are any australian species, and how abundant they might
be?