Subject: 3” Spider found in VT!
Location: Vermont, USA
May 29, 2013 2:21 am
Hi there! Although I am deathly afraid of spiders, I make a habit of identifying the ones that I find to better know my enemy. lol But this one that my friend found has eluded me. She says its 3” in size! That’s gotta be the biggest spider I’ve heard of anyone finding around here. She lives in a very country part of the state, lots of woods and mountains surround where she is (but I live further north in a more populated area). We would love to know what kind of spider this is. Her because she has dogs and would like to know if its poisonous, and me as I mentioned to better know my enemy species.
Signature: Kat

Fishing Spider

Hi Kat,
This is a Fishing Spider in the genus Dolomedes.  They are large and impressive spiders that are often found near water.  The more you read about them, the less you will fear them and we hope you will eventually learn to appreciate them.  Female Fishing Spiders have strong maternal instincts and they guard their eggs and young.  Though they might bite, they are not aggressive and they are not considered dangerous to either humans or pets.  Since we will be away from the office in early June, we are postdating this submission to go live at that time.

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Subject: What is this
Location: Hopkinton, Ma
May 27, 2013 7:30 pm
My son-in-law found this tonight in Hopkinton, Ma. He said it was 3-4 inches.
Signature: Suzanne

Nursery Web Spider

Dear Suzanne,
This spectacular spider is a harmless Nursery Web Spider, Pisaurina mira.  There is a more common color variation, but this particular coloration is pictured on BugGuide.  Female Nursery Web Spiders exhibit extreme maternal care of eggs and young spiderlings.  We will be away from the office in early June, so we are postdating your submission to go live on June 1.

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Subject: Truly awful spider
Location: Eastern PA
May 20, 2013 5:47 pm
This was spotted on a warm morning in May in Pennsylvania, in a flat space between a gate and the post it goes up against. It was identified (I think incorrectly) at brown recluse spider. Any idea what this guy is?
Signature: Joe

Nursery Web Spider: Pisaurina mira

Joe,
You should be ashamed of yourself calling this Nursery Web Spider “Truly awful.”  Nursery Web Spiders, which include Fishing Spiders, are along with Wolf Spiders among the best mothers in the arachnid world.  The female Nursery Web Spider carries her eggs in her chelicerae or jaws and eventually finds a safe place when the eggs are getting ready to hatch.  The safe place is often in a low tree or shrub and she spins a nursery web which she continues to guard.  We believe your Nursery Web Spider is Pisaurina mira.
P.S.  Here is a link to the Brown Recluse.

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Subject: Big Spider in Maryland
Location: Gaithersburg, MD
March 25, 2013 6:15 pm
I didn’t see this one, but my wife found it on our back porch earlier today. It’s March here, and we’d just had an unseasonable snowfall. This guy was hiding under one of the cushions on the lawn furniture. He was about 3 to 4 inches across, and alive but not moving all too fast in the cold weather.
Signature: DaveC

Fishing Spider

Dear DaveC,
This magnificent creature is a Fishing Spider in the genus Dolomedes.  Despite the large size, Fishing Spiders are harmless.

Thank you for such a quick response! I’ll let my kids know (4 year old twin boys) — they were more than a little freaked out when they saw it.
Best,
Dave

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Subject: Huntsman Spider in West Virginia?
Location: Harpers Ferry, WV
December 25, 2012 10:51 am
Hello! I came home one evening to find this beauty on my front door! I live in Harpers Ferry, WV, and have never encountered one like this. He/she was black, about an inch long in the body (about three to four inches overall), black and shiny. It was aggressive, rearing up at me when I shined a flashlight on it. This photo was taken the first week of December when we had an unseasonable warm spell. Your help with identification would be greatly appreciated!!
Signature: L. in West Virginia

Possibly Fishing Spider

Dear L.,
We do not know of any black Huntsman Spiders found in North America.  Given the size you describe, our best guess is a Fishing Spider in the genus Dolomedes, but alas, there is not enough detail in your photo to be certain.  When we lightened the image, we could make out striping in the legs which is consistent with the Fishing Spider identification.  Female Fishing Spiders defend their eggs, and the behavior you describe would also support the possibility that this is a female Fishing Spider defending her eggs.  Fishing Spiders, though large and frightening, are perfectly harmless.

Thank you so much! I wondered if this might be a fishing spider as I
live right between the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers…I just never
seen one so far from the actual water and never one this dark in its
coloring! I am glad to know I can let visitors to the area know,
should they see one of these guys wandering around, that they are
perfectly harmless and should be allowed to go about their business.
Score one for the big little creatures of the world!

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Subject: Spider
Location: Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Ecuador
November 5, 2012 5:53 pm
I would see this spider in almost the same location every day in the Amazon basin in Ecuador, and I never saw a web. I am very curious as to what species of spider this is, and if you could help me out I would greatly appreciate it!
Signature: Sam

Possibly Fish Catching Spider

Hi Sam,
Our first inclination was to speculate on the possibility that this is some species of Huntsman Spider or Giant Crab Spider in the family Sparassidae since they are often large and do not build webs, but as we began to try to find a matching image on the internet, we stumbled upon this spider identified as a Fish Catching Spider on Ed Germaine’s Photography website.  Clicking on the thumbnail reveals this marvelous photo which looks very similar to your photo.  We then speculated that perhaps the spider in your photo is related to the Fishing Spiders and Nursery Web Spiders in the family Pisauridae.  They also do not build webs to snare prey.  We wish you had a photo that showed the eye structure more clearly.  We are going to post your photo and we hope that some expert can confirm either of the two possibilities we have come up with or provide a correction.  Even better, perhaps someone can narrow the identification to the genus or species instead of just two possible families.

Possibly Fish Catching Spider

Eric Eaton Responds
Daniel:
I do not have an opinion.  There are entire families of spiders found in South America that do not occur here in the United States, so extrapolating is rather dangerous.  Very nice specimen, a male, and not something I recognize as dangerously venomous.
Eric

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