Spitting Spider--Laura, Austin, TX:
This
tiny spider--it measures, from head to
tail, about 4mm (3/16ths inch), long--was collected by Laura, in north
Austin, TX, on 121308. She asked several acquaintances what they thought
it was, and one said it was a brown recluse, so she became concerned.
She'd called me earlier this year about a snake, and decided to ask
about the spider, too. When she had trouble getting her digital camera
to focus on such a small critter, I offered to come by and pick it up.
At her home, without a magnifying glass, I guessed it might be a
juvenile wolf spider, but back at the lab, under the microscope, it
turned out to be a spitting spider in the family Scytodidae. This
worldwide family of spiders is divided into 5 genera and 192 species,
but is represented in North America by a single genus (Scytodes)
and seven species. One of the more common of these is Scytodes
thoracica, and Laura's specimen appears to have all the exterior,
easily discerned, markings of that species. I notice that
L. Watson & J. Dallwitz (2004) report that this is the only species
found in Britain (see
the drawing provided). The spitting spiders are unique arachnids
that squirt a glue-venom mixture from their fangs to ensnare and kill
their prey, but they are considered harmless to humans and other
mammals. (*see
Ubick et al, [2005],
p. 217-218) -----
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* TERMITE ENCOUNTERS *
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BITE FIRST AID *
SNAKE
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SPIDER
ENCOUNTERS FOR 2008 *
SPIDER ENCOUNTERS FOR 2007 *
SPIDER
BITE FIRST AID *
SPIDER
EXTERMINATION
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PUSS CATERPILLAR ENCOUNTERS *
PUSS CATERPILLAR FIRST AID *
PUSS CATERPILLAR EXTERMINATION
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Assembled & Edited by
Jerry Cates . Questions? Corrections? Comments?
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