Scytodes thoracica
Food tiller ( Scytodes thoracic )
The Food tiller ( Scytodes thoracic ) is a spider of the family meal- crab. It is the only Central European native species of this family. The spider lives in Central Europe invariably building.
Description
The meat crab reaches a body length of 4 to 6 mm. It is easily recognized by its high arched cephalothorax ( prosoma ), which is as large as about the abdomen. After she has caught a prey animal with glue, the front body with empty chambers glands is much flatter. The like all spiders of the family sechsäugige (2 each eye into three groups ) Scytodes thoracic has a sand- yellow to translucent base color, can be seen on the dark gray to black spots that can be run into strips. The dark- ringed, sand yellow legs are very thin and hardly visible from a distance.
Distribution and habitat
The Food tiller is used today almost worldwide. In addition to the southwestern and the southeastern Palaearctic species have colonized the western North America and was also sporadically detected in South America, Central Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia. In Europe, the species is absent in the north and east, the northern limit of distribution extends through central England and Denmark; in the east the kind missing already in Poland.
The distribution area originally comprised probably only the subtropical zone, where the species occurs free-living under stones before. In Central Europe the species is synanthropic and almost exclusively found in older homes.
Way of life
The Food tiller is the only Spiders of Central Europe, which overwhelmed their prey from a distance. Their prey localizes with cup hairs ( trichobothria ) on the front pair of legs. She spits out converted venom glands enlarged by Chelicerenöffnungen glue up to 20 millimeters wide on their prey. The converted split- venom glands have a pantry in the front body of the spider, which is emptied by muscle contraction. The prey is stuck in 140 ms by the both horizontally and vertically, about 20 times in a zig- zag shape and exactly gespuckten glue from the larger venom glands chamber to the substrate. Sometimes the chelicerae oscillate horizontally or vertically only. Then the poison bite occurs with poison from the smaller gland, and the prey is sucked out.
The males present copulation forth a thread, which is then held by the third pair of legs and slipped over the genital opening to receive the sperm. The sperm is then picked up by thickening of the pedipalps (pine key) in the bulbs. The bulbs finally be introduced into the genital opening (without Epigyne ) of the female. The female spins a Eisack, she holds with the chelicerae and bears under the sternum around with you.
Although she usually moves slowly and insidiously, they can also be quite run quickly on walls and ceilings in danger.
Endangering
The species is widespread and common in suitable habitats. It is classified as " safely " in Germany in the Red List.
Pictures
Scytodes thoracica of the page