What Is This #AZCritter? Six-Eyed Spitting Spider

By Arizona Science Desk
Published: Friday, September 9, 2016 - 8:00am
Updated: Friday, September 9, 2016 - 1:45pm
(Photo by Carol Harvey | Graphic by Ambar Favela)
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What Is This #AZCritter?

Becky Pallack posted a photo of this spider on Facebook.

“After I flung it out the back door, it did a half twist with a somersault, landed on its feet and ran off," she said.

What Is It?

This critter is a Scytodes thoracia, also known as a six-eyed spitting spider, said Caitlin “Cat” Chapman. She is a spider biologist and museum digitization consultant with the Symbiota Collections of Arthropods Network.

“They're called spitting spiders because they will literally spit a silky substance onto their prey to ensnare it, “ she said.

Where Do They Live?

“(They are) super cool little critters, and they're fairly common in Phoenix," said Chapman. “They’re terrestrial, so on the ground, under rocks, leaves, etc. and of course, in people’s homes!”

Are They Dangerous?

Six-eyed spitting spiders are “nothing of concern to humans despite sharing the six-eyed pattern with recluse spiders,” she said. “That is, fortunately, the only thing they have in common with recluses. That and their presence within the Haplogyne spiders, but now we're just splitting hairs,” Chapman joked.

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