Fishing Spider

Fishing Spider

Dolomedes tenebrosus
NURSERY WEB SPIDER FAMILY (Pisauridae)

Click on each photo thumbnail to enlarge.

Most of these spider images can only be identified to genus level, according to the volunteer experts at BugGuide. But the specimen in the 5th image was identified by a volunteer expert at BugGuide as a D. tenebrosus – note the two-stranded silk thread. It looks to be the same as the specimen in the first two image. The female grows up to 1 inch long and is dark gray, hairy, with banded legs. It is semi-aquatic; this specimen was photographed in Mormon Hollow where there is a small stream and some standing water. Like some other members of the Nursery Web Spider family, the female constructs an egg sac and carries it with her even as she hunts on or near open water.

 

This spider is common in Fontenelle Forest and the surrounding area.

 

Disclaimer: The content of NatureSearch is provided by dedicated volunteer Naturalists of Fontenelle Forest who strive to provide the most accurate information available. Contributors of the images retain their copyrights. The point of contact for this page is: Loren Padelford.