Long-legged sac spider:
Family Miturgidae.
Average body length 10 – 16 mm.
Identification: “Black face”. Long legs. Short thick cheliserae (the first pair of ‘fangs’ used to grab, bite and chew) .
Habitat: Buildings, trees, rocks, plants, flowers. Often found in citrus trees, strawberries and cotton. Houses where it spins a bag (sac) in the folds of textile material.
Customs: Free living. An agile and aggressive hunter that jumps onto its prey.
Venom: Cytotoxic. Causes inflammation, open sores and wounds that take long to heal. Often leads to secondary infections. Human deaths have been reported. Not a spider to play with. One of the six "dangerous" toxic spiders in South Africa.
Web: None.
Food: Insects.
Reproduction: Small eggs.
References: Internet web sites. SASOL field guide to Spiders and Scorpions of South Africa.
The cache:
A cute pedestrian bridge. Be extremely alert, viglilant and on the lookout for muggles who frequently use the bridge. Also watch for curious eyes from the house next to the parking coordinates. "Taking photos" is a good decoy to do your business.
Small magnetic 50 ml container. No space for any items. BYOP.