The hunting behavior of juvenile Yllenus arenarius Menge 1868 in their first week after leaving sub-sand nests was studied. The spiders were tested with prey that can effectively escape (Homoptera) and prey that are not capable of efficient escape (Thysanoptera and larvae of Lepidoptera) in order to assess the complexity of young spiders' hunting tactics. Numerous differences were found in the mode of catching the prey, which indicate that the spiders possess a conditional hunting strategy. The strategy is expressed in: direction of approach, speed of approach, distance of attack and other prey-specific behaviors. The results strongly suggest the pre-programmed background of both the observed behaviors and sensitivity towards certain prey characteristics that enabled prey identification.