Reproduction
Scytodes species are typically solitary until mating or hunting due to their aggressive nature. Males are cautious when trying to find a mate. Females carry their eggs until they hatch, typically under their body or in their chelicerae. This is the most vulnerable stage in life, the egg-carrying period. Upon hatching, the juvenile spiders remain in their mother's web. They cooperatively capture and feed on prey caught in the web. Upon reaching sexual maturity, the young spiders leave the web, move a short distance away and exhibit solitary behavior. [8]
Sociality and Parental care
Scytodes are known to perform a wide range of social organization, with some species being solitary, subsocial, communal-territorial, or social. [9] [10] [11] Many of the subsocial and colonial species are known to give extended parental care, such as S.[fusca,socialis, longipes, intricata, indet(a)(b)]
Females will sparsely wrap their eggs in a sac, and hold it in it’s chelicerae until they hatch, [9] [10] sometimes dropping the egg sac to capture prey, after which they return and feed beside the eggs, picking them up again once finished. [9] This behaviour protects the eggs from desiccation, mould, parasites, and predator. [9]
Some species are subsocial and after hatching, the spiderlings will often cohabitate with their mother until a certain instar is reached, but some may stay longer or leave earlier. During this period the spiderling and adult will hunt prey, but not spit at or prey on each other. The mothers will sometimes take captured prey to the spiderlings. S. indet(a) and S. indet(b) will often share the meal with their spiderlings, but S.fusca will not, eating separate meals away from the spiderlings. [9] [10] [11] Cohabitating spiderlings will work together to capture large prey, but will hunt small prey individually. Conflict between spiderlings occurs in some species at early instars, but cannibalistic behaviour only arises in later instars of those species. [11]
S. socialis is known to be a social species, and individuals will continue cohabitation into adulthood, forming colonies, in which individuals show no aggression to each-other and share prey [12]
Hunting
Scytodes primarily detect prey by vibration and smell. [13] Scytodes will Spit at prey until it is subdued. Once the prey is subdued, Scytodes wrap the prey in silk, and feed. [9] When prey flees, Scytodes will sometimes pursue the prey, and spit web once it gets close. [9] Prey often gets glued to substrate by the spit, and the Scytodes will cut it loose from the substrate to wrap it. [9] Sometimes when prey struggles during wrapping, or immediately after spitting web, the spider will quickly lunge and stab the prey with it’s fangs, retracting them immediately. Many Scytodes are known to be araneophagic, with some preferring to prey on other spiders. [9] [14] [11]
Hunting dangerous prey such as other spiders is thought to lead to behavioural flexibility, which can be observed in Scytodes, which will adjust their hunting methods based on prey size. [9]
S. pallida (and/or possibly S. indet(a)) shares an interesting relationship with the jumping spider Portia labiata, in which both are each other's primary prey. [9] [14] These spiders do not die post-mating; males live 1.5–2 years and females live 2 to 4 years.
Webs
Some species of Scytodes are known to build webs. Webs of many Scytodes consist of a sheet of web connected to a small tubular shelter, in which the spider tends to reside. [9] [10]
