Spider id
Posted by Keith Frisch on June 30, 2007
Q: Found this on my fireplace screen, Ilive in southwest Virginia. It had to be between 4 to 5 inches around the legs, not the best photo but...
Habitat: suburban/yard
State: Virginia
Habitat: suburban/yard
|
|
A: Thanks for trying again to send the photos - it worked! Your photos are of the underside of the spider but I think I can determine what you have. The spider looks to me like a fishing spider in the genus Dolomedes - can't give you the exact species though.
These are rather large spiders that are usually found near water. They feed mostly on insects but have been known to capture tadpoles and even small fish. There are about 12 different kinds of fishing spiders north of Mexico and although they do look scary, aren't dangerous. Check out this website on fishing spiders for some great photos of this interesting animal at: triffophoto3.tripod.com Thanks for writing.
John Wiessinger ( June 30, 2007)