This morning as I was walking along the boardwalk that runs through the marsh in Huntley Meadows Park, I happened to glance down into the muddy water and was surprised to see something that looked like a cross between a starfish and a spider. I always though that spiders lived in trees and on other types of vegetation, but today I learned that there are also spiders that hunt for their prey in the water.
This spider is from the Dolomedes family, probably a six-spotted fishing spider (Dolomedes triton). According to the Wikipedia article, they are often seen with their legs sprawled out by the water while they are waiting for prey (which is what this one seems to be doing). They eat other invertebrates, tadpoles and occasionally small fish (and the female may also eat male fishing spiders if she has already mated). According to fcps.edu, these spiders can walk on the surface water and can stay underwater for 30 minutes. Not surprisingly, they don’t make webs.
This has been quite the day for unusual insects, beginning with a neon-colored grasshopper and ending with a fishing spider. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Fishing Spider Waiting for Prey (click for higher resolution)
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Wow…..
It’s definitely something different.
[…] you want to see a few more images of these interesting spiders, check out my previous postings Fishing spider waiting for prey and Fishing in the […]