BIG spider in Angola
Location: Kikuxi, Luanda, Angola
December 22, 2011 12:38 am
We found this huge spider in our courtyard in Angola, and we just photographed it and left it alone. Later, I wondered whether it was poisonous. I put a match stick in the picture to help with size.
Signature: Dawn in Angola
Unknown Spider from Angola
Dear Dawn,
Almost all spiders have venom, but very few have venom that is toxic enough to be a threat to humans. We do not recognize your spider, but we are posting your letter and photo in the hope that we might someday identify this interesting looking creature. Perhaps our readership might be able to provide an identification as well.
Karl provides an identification: December 29, 2011
Hi Daniel and Dawn:
It looks like a Nursery Web Spider (Pisauridae), perhaps in the genus Euprosthenops. By all accounts they are harmless to humans. Regards. Karl
¶ Posted 22 December 2011 § ‡ ° Dock Spider with Egg Nest
Location: Haliburton County, Ontario, Canada
November 18, 2011 4:20 pm
I sat for almost an hour waiting for this shot. This was taken on a dock in Haliburton County, Ontario, Canada. She is absolutely gorgeous. The context is that the space she is sitting in is alomost 4” wide. We have always called them Dock spiders but it would be great to know if they have another name.
Signature: Scott
Fishing Spider with her Nursery Web
Dear Scott,
We try not to think too much about the letters that go unanswered, though we know that there are probably numerous overlooked gems that our readers will find interesting. Today, we had a bit of time and we are randomly looking at unanswered requests. We are thrilled we stumbled upon your submission. We apologize for never responding earlier, especially since you waited for an hour to catch this awesome photo of a female Dock Spider or Fishing Spider, Dolomedes tenebrosus (see BugGuide), protecting her Nursery Web full of spiderlings. Many species in the genus are found in close proximity to the water and they are able to walk across the surface and dive beneath the water to escape predators. Some are even known to hunt aquatic creatures like minnows and tadpoles, hence the common name Fishing Spider. Like the rest of the family, these are hunting spiders that do not build webs, except for the care of their brood. For that reason, they are also called Nursery Web Spiders.
Thank you Daniel. I am glad you liked it. I also managed to get a huge series of a male and female mating. Interested?
Merry Christmas and all of the very besy in 2012
Scott
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¶ Posted 20 December 2011 § ‡ ° Foodchain, Spider and Fly
Location: Queensland. Australia
October 29, 2011 9:58 pm
Hi guys,
Thought you might like this picture for your food chain pages. A tiny immature Dolomedes Instabilis has caught itself an Austrosciapus connexus, one of the Long Legged Flys. The fly is about 6mm long.
Signature: Aussietrev
Water Spider eats Long Legged Fly
Hi Trevor,
We greatly appreciate that you take the time to identify your creatures prior to submitting photos, which makes posting your submissions so easy. According to the Find a Spider Guide for the Spiders of Southern Queensland website, Dolomedes instabilis is commonly called a Water Spider and their habitat is “On the surface of still-water ponds; this spider has the ability to run on water surfaces and to form underwater retreats in large air bubbles, although some pisaurids make their webs in green leaves or small twigs of shrubs and may never have occasion to ‘walk on water.’” The Brisbane Insect website has some wonderful photos and indicates the common name is Fishing Spider like its North American relatives. The Brisbane Insect website also indicates the common name of Austrosciapus connexus is the Green Long Legged Fly.
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beautiful spider
Location: NE Oklahoma
October 9, 2011 9:30 am
Hello, I live in North Eastern Oklahoma and was getting ready to winterize my pond. I began pulling excess surface water plants out and found this spider. We would love to know what kind he was. The blue on his abdomen was sky blue.The Pennywort leaf he was on is approximately 2 inches across.
Signature: Thanks so much!! Love your site.
Six Spotted Fishing Spider
Thanks for the compliment. Your lovely spider is a Six Spotted Fishing Spider, Dolomedes triton, a species rarely found far from ponds or slow moving bodies of water. This is one of the most aquatic of the Fishing Spiders. They are capable of walking across the water and even diving beneath the surface to escape predators and to capture prey. The Six Spotted Fishing Spider is known to catch small fish or tadpoles for food.
¶ Posted 09 October 2011 § ‡ ° Wolf or Fishing Spider?
Location: Southeastern, Ontario
September 18, 2011 6:58 am
Dear Bugman, I keep finding these large spiders around my backyard, usually around the pool or the deck. This one was around the patio doors. I would just like to have it idendified and find out if they would harm a child if bitten. Thank you.
Signature: curiousbugperson
Fishing Spider
Dear curiousbugperson,
This is most assuredly a Fishing Spider in the genus Dolomedes, and in our opinion, it is Dolomedes tenebrosus based on information posted to BugGuide. According to the information that is available, this is a harmless species, though we would not discount the possibility that one of these shy and docile Fishing Spiders might be provoked into biting a person.
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¶ Posted 18 September 2011 § ‡ ° Looks like a spider, no wait…
Location: 30176
September 12, 2011 6:34 am
It only has six legs.
A friend of mine found this while exploring the woods in Tallapoosa, GA. He swears that it was AT LEAST four inches, if not bigger, that the torso was likely the size of a pecan. He was speaking of it as a spider, but when I looked at the picture, I realized that there aren’t eight legs. He did point out that the abdomen didn’t look like the standard spider variety.
Signature: Lucy King
Fishing Spider with Egg Sac
Hi Lucy,
Since you did not take this photo, we hope your friend has given you permission for us to publish it. This is a female Fishing Spider in the genus Dolomedes, and she is carrying her egg sac which is visible beneath her body. Spiders in the Nursery Web Spider family Pisauridae carry their egg sacs in their chelicerae or fangs until they find a suitable location for spinning a nursery web. They continue to guard the eggs and spiderlings until they die. Nursery Web Spiders, including the Fishing Spiders, are hunting spiders that do not use webs to snare prey. This photo is not critically sharp, so it is difficult to make out certain details. It is entirely possible that this individual is missing two legs, though it appears that the front two pairs of legs are being held together on both sides, creating the illusion that it only has six legs. That is a common pose for Nursery Web Spiders and this posting from our archive shows both the pose and an individual with missing legs. We believe the species is Dolomedes vittatus because of this description on BugGuide: “The two dark-colored spots in the middle of the cephalothorax are almost always more robust in D. vittatus than the more narrow ones found on D. scriptus.” These dark spots behind the head are especially prominent in this individual.
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¶ Posted 12 September 2011 § Eggs ‡ ° Spider ID- possibly a fishing spider
Location: Muskegon County Michigan
September 4, 2011 7:32 pm
Hi Bugman. I adjunct at a community college and frequently get community requests for identification. Someone brought me this beautiful spider last week. She found it near a stream in western Michigan. It has the general body shape of a wolf spider but the body is over an inch long. After some crude internet searching I feel that Dolomedes vittatus looks very similar and should indeed be found near a stream. I took the following photos with the poor dear living in a large jar with vegetation the concerned citizen collected at the site. I have already told her its more than likely some sort of fishing spider , but I’m sure she would surely like to know if I’m mistaken. Thanks!
Signature: Beth Walker
Fishing Spider
Hi Beth,
Your photos do not look as though they were taken in a confined, man-made habitat. We hope this magnificent spider will soon be returned to its natural state. We agree that this is a Fishing Spider, and of all the species in the genus Dolomedes on BugGuide, we agree that Dolomedes vittatus appears to be the closest visual match.
Dolomedes vittatus
Even the eye arrangement on your spider matches the face of a Dolomedes vittatus posted to BugGuide.
Fishing Spider
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¶ Posted 05 September 2011 § ‡ ° Giant River Spiders
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
September 3, 2011 9:23 am
A friend and I went hiking and wanted to rest and sit on some big stones in the middle of the river. I saw these two long twigs resting on the rock and bent to move them, only to see that those long ”twigs” were legs belonging to a spider the size of my face. I’ve lived in PA all my life, but I have never seen a spider this big – and it wasn’t the only one. We saw a couple more in the same area. All I know is that they blended really well against the surface, there were only one or two spiders on each rock, and I didn’t see any spiders webs.
I’d like to know if they are poisonous and if they are particularly aggressive. Either way, I’m arachnophobic so I won’t be trekking through creeks and rivers again any time soon.
Signature: ”Why spider god, why?”
Fishing Spider
Dear WSGW?
We absolutely love your letter and we hope we can dispel your fears. This is a Fishing Spider in the genus Dolomedes, and though we wish your photo had more detail, there is no shortage on our site of excellent images of Fishing Spiders. Fishing Spiders are large spiders that are often associated with aquatic habitats. They are capable of walking on the surface of the water and even diving beneath the water to escape predators or to capture prey, occasionally small fish, tadpoles and other aquatic creatures. Like most spiders, they have venom, but they are not considered a species that is harmful to humans. Here is what the Penn State University Entomology website has to say about Fishing Spiders: “Although a large spider such as D. tenebrosus is able to bite humans, it is a shy spider that will run from people. Bites are typically no more severe than a bee or wasp sting. Exceptions do occur for individuals who are sensitive to spider venoms.” We have never received a report from anyone that they were bitten by a Fishing Spider. These are magnificent creatures and we hope you are able to overcome your fears so that you are able to continue to enjoy the wonders of nature in Pennsylvania’s amazing streams, creeks and other bodies of water.
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¶ Posted 03 September 2011 § ‡ ° 
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