Zodariidae (Spotted Ground Spiders)

The Zodariidae mainly occur in tropical and subtropical areas, but several species occur in Europe as well. The spiders live on the ground and hunt, as far as known, only ants. Some species do so by copying even the behavior of ants.


Genus Zodarion

These small (2–5 mm), dark-coloured, and fast-moving spiders build a typical retreat on the underside of stones and pieces of wood. The silken retreat is round and covered on the outside with small pieces of wood and gravel, etc., and is approximately 0.5–1 cm. The spiders do not build a web to catch prey, but hunt freely and exclusively on ants.