Spitting Spider

Using webs to catch prey is all well and good, but it almost seems tame compared to what spitting spiders do to their victims. To subdue a target, the killers take aim and fire twin streams of venom-drenched silk out of their fangs. At a top speed of 62 miles per hour, the fibers move in a wide-arced, zig-zag pattern. In addition to being coated with poison, this silk drips with a super-sticky glue. Once victims are enmeshed, the glue-covered fibers will shrink, constricting the unfortunate prey. Eventually, the spitting spider will administer a venomous bite and put the trapped entrée out of its misery.

Scuba Spider

Diving bell spiders (Argyroneta aquatica) can use air bubbles to breathe underwater, essentially treating them like mini scuba-diving tanks. The spiders are tiny, measuring just 0.4 to 0.6 inches (10 to 15 millimeters) long, so one bubble can supply more than a day's worth of air. German scientists mimicked extreme low-oxygen conditions in a lab and watched the clever critters construct webs between pondweeds and aquarium sides, and then collect large air bubbles on their abdomen and rear legs.