Fisher Spider?
Location: NE Ohio
May 5, 2012 9:58 am
Based on other photos on the site, I’m thinking this is a fisher spider. We caught her in the basement and liberated her out by our little pond. She’s a beauty!
Signature: Frances
Hi Frances,
We agree that this is a Fishing Spider in the genus Dolomedes. These are large spiders and many people are frightened by their fierce appearance, but we have never received a report of anyone being bitten by a Fishing Spider and they are not considered to be dangerous. We are tagging your email with our Bug Humanitarian Award thanks to your decision to catch and release rather than to stomp or swat. We hope your letter will help to increase our readership’s awareness of the beneficial species that often fall prey to irrational human fears.