Banded Fishing Spider (Dolomedes vittatus) 072908 pg 2

The photo was taken by E. Ferdinandi several days after he took the photo shown on the previous page. In the previous photo, an egg mass is shown in an egg sac web which is being guarded by the female. In the present photo, the eggs have hatched and the hatchlings are dispersed within the web. The female will continue to guard the hatchlings for a few days until they begin to disperse, beyond the web, on their own. Fishing spiders are members of the Pisauridae family, also known as nursery web (formerly purseweb) spiders. These spiders do not spin a catching snare, but confine their spinning talents to the construction of  specialized webs that protect the egg sac during the last days of egg development. Unlike wolf spiders, who attach their egg sacs to their spinnerets and pull them around until the eggs hatch, fishing spiders grasp the egg sac by their chelicerae and push or drag them along until time to prepare the nursery web. This particular spider built its web on the underside of a railing along a walkway. Most fishing spiders choose the bough of a low tree or shrub, or even the upper portion of a woody annual weed. Although these medium-to-large spiders are capable of inflicting a painful bite, they are not aggressive and have a reputation for being essentially harmless.  In fact, they are often kept as terrarium pets. Because they tend to freeze when startled, they pose well for photos ----FINIS---- PAGE MENU:   1  *  2  *

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