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FISHING
SPIDERS
(2)
(Unclassified) |
Comment: I found your site this evening while looking
for spider pictures for my class. I study fishing
spiders, and learned from the master himself, Jim Carico.
Most of the fishing spiders that people are sending you
are female Dolomedes tenebrosus, they are very
large (a beautiful example of female gigantism), males
are only about 1/2 the size of the female or smaller.
The large whitish one, fourth from the bottom, is
Dolomedes albineus. A few of darker ones appear to
be Dolomedes scriptus, but they are harder to ID
from a photo.
Dr. Kelly C. Kissane |
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Reply: This is a fishing spider - glen
28 September, 2011:
Hi there,
My name's Charlie. Found this spider in Rochester Hills, MI. No idea what kind it is, maybe a Wolf Spider. Sent two images of the same spider. Email me back if you identify it as its easier to check my email.
Thanks,
Charlie
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Reply: This is a fishing spider too - glen
26 August, 2011:
Hi Glen,
I stumbled upon your site while doing a search for this spider. I was wondering if you can help us identify this spider. After many searches, we believe this may be a Fishing Spider, but not very confident. It was actually on my brother’s shoulder and it gave him quite a shock of his life. It was in our garage and we are located in Ontario, Canada. Our house is near a ravine area. The spider’s body is about 3/4" to 1”. Still in a glass jar and will release it back into the wild once we get confirmation that it’s ‘harmless’.
Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.
Vic.
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Reply: This is a fishing spider too - glen
4 August, 2011:
Found this the other day in patapsco state park in Maryland.
Been going back and forth with a group of people... Wolf Spider vs.Dolomedes tenebrosus
The more i look the more i see tenebrosus. Just thought i'd get your opinion.
Thanks!
Matt
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Reply: This is a fishing spider too - glen
4 August, 2011:
Greetings from the Adirondacks!
I've attached two photos from today, the second to show relative size. I don't know spiders, but I know I've not seen one like this before. What would you call it?
I appreciate your expertise!
Allison
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Reply: This is a fishing spider too - glen
16 July, 2011:
Hello,
I came across your website & email address online - not sure if you're still helping folks with spider IDs online, but I'm wondering if you can help with this one? Found today above the sliding door at our home in Southeast Michigan, along with an egg sac that has been laid in between the exterior glass door (storm door) and the interior portion. I think it may be either a wolf or fishing spider? Thanks for any help you can offer,
Tim
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Reply: This is a fishing spider - glen
11 July, 2011:
I live in Vermont and have always had many species of spiders in and around my home. This was a new one for me! He is large...and is near a nest.. both pictures are attached. What species is this one?
Thanks
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Reply: It is not a tarantula, I think this is a fishing spider - glen
11 July, 2011:
Found in western tennessee. About 3" in this picture. Had a couple smaller babies around and was eating on the dead spider below. I thought it was some sort of tarantula. Thanks
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Reply: No I think this is a fishing spider - glen
11 July, 2011:
I came across this spider in a woodpile. I'm assuming it's a type of Wolf Spider, am I right ?
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Reply: This is a fishing spider too - glen
24 June, 2011:
Ok we found this on our pool shed. Thought it was a recluse at first but we took a better pic. Can you help with identification? Thank you.
Thanks!
Jen
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Reply: This is a fishing spider - glen
8 June, 2011:
Hi there!
Do you know what kind of spider this is? Found it outside my
house today. I'm from Connecticut.
Thanks!
Jen
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Reply: My son says it was actually more brown,
don't know why it is more red in the picture. It was about 3 inches
across and on
top of the backyard grill, not in water.
Reply: This looks a fishing spider too even though it is
very reddish in the photo - glen
29 May, 2011:
This was photographed in Richmond, KY. Would like to know what it is, and anything about it.
Thank you!
Sharon :-)
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Reply: This is a fishing spider too - glen
29 May, 2011:
We found this spider in a wooden area in north east Maryland. Biggest spider we have ever seen around here. Can you identify it?
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Reply: This is a fishing spider too - glen
29 May, 2011:
My grandson found this (not so little) girl ( guy?) on the side of a towel basket in our spare bedroom. We live in Southbridge, MA. We came up with WOLF SPIDER looking at your site, he's 9 and would love to find out if he got it right. Thanks Todd & Tyler
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Reply: This is a fishing spider too - glen
29 May, 2011:
Hello Glen!
I found your website and was hoping that you could put my mind at ease! I have a 2 1/2 yr old and another baby on the way! I'd really like to know if this spider is in any way dangerous! We live in central VT. I've never in my life come across a spider that was this large!!! I really hope you can help!!! :)
Thanks for your help!
Amber
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Reply: This is a fishing spider too - glen
6 April, 2011:
I saw this huge spider in the woods on a log. Didn't notice it had only seven legs until after the picture was taken. It lost a leg somehow.
Jerry
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Reply: This is a fishing spider - glen
6 April, 2011:
Don't know what kind this one is. It was under a piece of plywood lying on the ground that I turned over looking for spiders while out macro shooting.
Jerry
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Reply: This is a fishing spider and it is not
considered dangerous - glen
4 October, 2010:
We found this in our backyard. Can you tell me what kind of spider it is and if we should be worried.
Thank you.
Staci (New York) |
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Reply: That is fine - glen
4 October, 2010:
I used a paragraph from one of the spider poems –
I included the poem with a photo of a spider that I
photographed, please feel free to use the spider photo
in exchange for the poem. If that is okay? http://www.beachmountain.us/morning-vistor/
Thanks Gary |
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31 July, 2010:
Hey Glen,
I hope you're doing well.
I'm wondering if you can help me identify a few different spiders that I saw on a campground here in the states in Marietta, Illinois. I'm thinking these could be fishing spiders, but I'm not totally sure.
I should have taken the photos with something other than my phone, but that's all I had on my at the time, so I hope there's enough detail.
All of the spider's (with their legs) had a diameter of about 3 to 3.5 inches.
Two of them were living in a hollowed out tree that my friends and I were cutting up, and the other one just showed up on our deck at night.
The two in the tree were pretty similar except the male one that's in the grass had bright orange markings on it.
Anyhow, I appreciate any help you can give me.
Take care.
_trevor |
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23 July, 2010:
Hi there!
I was hoping maybe you could help identify this spider - it s been living in the tiny space between my mailbox and my wall, but it's very large - with the legs it's as wide as my gutter...sorry the pix aren't great, they were from my camera phone, but I hope you can help, because it is scary looking!
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Reply: It doesn't have the right
eye pattern for a wolf spider so I think this is a fishing
spider - glen
10 July, 2010:
Some say it’s a wolf spider but the markings don’t match. I live in Johnston IA.
Thanks,
Tim |
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Reply: I think this is probably a fishing
spider with her egg sac - glen
10 July, 2010:
I found this spider while I was in the Dominican Republic
near Santo Domingo I was wondering if you could identify it. thanks
Madeline |
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Reply: I think this is a fishing
spider - glen
7 July, 2010:
i found this spider and i was wondering if you could tell me what kind of spider it is. it is between 3 and 4 inches wide and atleast 4 inches long it actually jumped at me i live in east texas it was on my door
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Reply: I think this is a fishing
spider - glen
7 July, 2010:
Hi, my neice and I went out at night in IL to find toads and found this instead! It was on the cement step by the front porch. Seriously it was at least 3.5 inches long, and did not move when we put a bright flashlight on him. Just hoping to identify, and wondering if it is dangerous. We do live in an area of central IL and by tons of very large trees, a lake and a river.
Any info you can provide will be most appreciated.
Attaching a picture...
thanks,
Diane |
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Reply: I think this is a fishing
spider - glen
3 July, 2010:
Found this in southern Ohio. Wondered what kind it is. Good luck Thnx! |
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Reply: It could be some sort of fishing
spider - glen
28 June, 2010:
Hey, great site! I love spiders but can't keep any because they scare the hell out of my wife [Winking smile emoticon] I found this fairly large spider in my kitchen in central CT last year and have never been able to ID it. I shooed it outside where it hopefully ate a bunch of bugs. I appreciate your help.
John |
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Reply: I'd say it's a fishing
spider - glen 22 June, 2010:
Some say it is a fishing spider and some say a wolf spider. It's about 4in round with legs. Can u verify for me please. Thanks.
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22 June, 2010:
Look here need help with spider
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10 June, 2010:
Hi Glen,
I was hoping you could tell me what kind of spider this is? I live in Pennsylvania, in a wooded area. This lovely lady was on the brick just outside our garage. It is hands down the most horrific spider I have ever seen! I couldn't find anything like it on your site. Thank you for your help! The picture should be attached to this email, but please let me know if you didn't get it.
Sincerely,
Jennifer
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28 May, 2010:
Dear Glen,I found this spider in our basement at less 2-3
times a year. We are eco friendly so I always managed to
capture it and set it free outside. However now my son is 7
and would like to keep it in his large bug house as his
summer pet. What do you think? Also, is this a Wolf Spider
or Fishing Spider? This thing is about 6 cm long.Thank you
so much for your attention in this matter.
Sincerely, Lee
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24 April, 2010:
Wolf spiders are common near my home, which is in a forest in Missouri. I found this large spider by my door, and I have always wanted a spider for a pet. I know Wolf Spiders are common pets and this spider is around a lot and isn't too shy, so I wanted to be sure of the type of spider before taking it into the terrarium.
When taking it's picture, I taped a quarter next to it for a size comparison. I hope the picture is good enough to identify this lovely spider. |
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5 April, 2010:
Good evening Glen. I have enclosed a fot of these spiders I have been trying to photograph. Is this spider a type of wolf spider you suppose? I know the wolf spider has very good eye sight, could that by why they run away when I get too close? I notice they don't reside in webs either. They are always running around in the grass or I find them hunched in corners of the fencing. Next time I get close I will pay attention and try to get a foto of the eyes. Thank you so much Glen and i hope you have a great evening*~*
Amanda
Again, sorry if this foto is big, still trying to figure out how to resize:( |
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28 March, 2010:
Any idea what kind of spider this is? I was found in a garage in Hopkinton, MA
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks! |
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11 October, 2009:
This large lady is living in our Day Lilies on our shoreline. We live on Lake Vermilion in Northern Minnesota. Is this a Fishing Spider with her off spring ? Thank you, Tana |
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6 August, 2009:
Dear Sir,
We found this one under the oar of our boat. She has a bright white dot on her head. Please help us ID her.
Sincerely,
April |
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1 August, 2009:
Hi there. I've been all over the net and can't quite get what kind of spider this is.
We were camping in northern Michigan and my daughter spotted this on the ground. I caught it to take a quick pic then let him go.
Do you know what kind it is? The body was about the size of a quarter and he has black lines down the middle of his back.
Thanks!! Stacey |
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1 August, 2009:
Can you identify this large spider. He was under our grill cover and
returned the next day. Very large! Thanks! |
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Reply: This is not a wolf spider, it is a fishing spider - glen
11 July, 2009:
Hi Glen! Your site is very intriguing but my eyes are hurting from staring at spider photos trying to figure out the answer to this question. My best guess is a Dolomedes tenebrosus from photos on yours and others sites. The only problem is this big guy/gal climbed UP to the inside part of the porch roof and appears to be weaving a web and the water here is on the other side of the house and down a steep hill so it is really not near the water. It's the biggest spider I've seen here (Southern Ohio) and I'm really curious what it is. Your website says that even wolf spiders don't build webs and are usually found on the ground. The location choice of this one is confusing to me. I am very interested in your take on this.
Thanks!
Catherine
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Reply: Yes it is a fishing spider -
Dolomedes albineus - glen
4 July, 2009:
I'm pretty sure this is a Fishing Spider - beautiful spider - but one of his back legs is missing. Could this account for him taking up residence on my back door frame? No water within miles and no woods to speak of - just patches of trees across the road. I live in town, not out in the country. He isn't aggressive. He stays in view in the day time and disappears at night.
Thank you for your help.
Jane
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29 June, 2009:
Hi Glen –
On Monday, June 22, 2009 while picking up my kids toys in the basement of our house in Southwest Michigan I found this creepy, large spider hiding in my son’s toy tool box. At first I thought it was fake and figured it was a plastic insect belonging to my son. But I was wrong – it was real!
Is this a fishing spider? How on earth did it get into my house which I thought I kept clean up to now? Did it start off as a small spider and grow into this huge spider in my house? I’ve had the heebie jeebies for 2 days now and have gone on a complete cleaning spree. If there’s one…should I expect others?
Thanks! I found your website to be the best one on the internet!
Kind Regards,
Tiffany
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Reply: No it's not a wolf spider,
that is a fishing spider - glen
Click for a larger view.21 June, 2009:
Hi Glen-
Could this be a Wolf Spider? It’s attached to the wall just outside my front door.
Thanks,
Myelita
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10 March, 2009:
Hi Glen,
Great site you have. My husband found this 4" long spider in our backyard pool in South Eastern Florida -- we were told it is a female fishing spider. Thank goodness it is not poisonous, because after we took these pics my husband let it go.
Nan |
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28 April, 2007:
Hi,
I live in
Florida. I
found this
spider in my
pool.
Looking on
your
website, I
am guessing
that it is
some kind of
wolf
spider. What
do you
think?
Wayne
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26 March, 2007:
could you please
identify this
spider? Cherie |
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26 Sept, 2005:
Hello! I live in Central Missouri and I found this thing on
my living room wall today, and I've looked at your spiders and can't
seem to find this kind. At first I thought it was a hobo spider, but
the markings are wrong, and Im in MO, then it resembled a wolf
spider, but I'm at a loss. Can you figure this out? Thanks so much!!
Dori If someone wants to use these pics its OK with me. |
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These spiders resemble the wolf spiders (Lycosidae), but have a
different eye pattern.
Pisaurids have their eyes arranged in 2 rows, the posterior row
slightly recurved, the median eyes in the second row slightly (if
any) larger than the others. (Wolf spiders have eyes arranged in 3
rows). The egg sac is carried by the female under her
prosoma, held there by her
chelicerae
& pedipalps. Before the eggs
hatch, the female attaches the sac to a plant and then builds a web
around it -- and stands guard nearby. The Pisaurids forage for their
food and build webs only for protecting their young. Some spiders in
this family, particularly fishing spiders in the genus
Dolomedes, are quite large and may have a leg spread of 75 mm
or more. The Dolomedes spiders live near water; they walk on the
surface of water and dive underneath it to feed on aquatic insects
and even small fish. Although nursery-web and fishing spiders are big enough to give a painful bite, they are not considered dangerous.
Many people (including me), are confused by the 5 similar
looking spiders - the harmless Huntsman, Wolf Spider, Southern
House Spider (Kukulcania), Fishing Spider and Brown
Recluse which of course is not harmless.
All photos are copyright to their
owners and may not be reproduced without permission.
Please choose a
section.
