Spitting spider / Getijgerde lijmspuiter

Description:

Getijgerde lijmspuiter, Scytodes thoracicaThis morning I discovered this small spider in my bedroom. Although I have seen pictures of this small spider, it took some close examination to recognise the spider. This because it was having lunch, or should I say breakfast. It had caught another small spider.(Source Wikipedia) Spitting spiders (family Scytodidae) are spiders of the genus Scytodes and their relatives. There are five known genera and over 150 species of scytodids worldwide. They catch their prey by spitting a fluid that immobilizes it by congealing on contact into a venomous and sticky mass. They can be observed swaying from side to side, in order to cover the prey in a crisscrossed "Z" pattern; each of two pores in the chelicerae emits half of the pattern. The spider usually strikes from a distance of 10-20mm and the whole attack sequence is over in a little under 1/700th of a second.