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Six-spotted Fishing Spider - Dolomedes triton (female)
A sharp-eyed student spotted this spider on the water's surface as we waded in the shallows, looking for frogs. I think this is a female.
Frog Night event as part of Durham's Creek Week:
www.keepdurhambeautiful.org/creek-week
29 shot handheld bracket
St. Louis County, MO
Six-spotted Fishing Spider (Dolomedes triton), Stewart County Park, Wisconsin
With prey. Fox Chase Pond and wetlands, Howard County, Maryland.
The only image I have of this very attractive spider. I need to find one in softer light--the glare was hideous this day. I cloned out some ugly highlights on the water here.
Six-spotted Fishing Spider - Dolomedes triton
References
- BugGuide bugguide.net/node/view/1990
This beauty was found in Finzel Swamp at the tail end of a bio blitz by Maryland Biodiversity Project in Garrett Co, MD. I haven't seen many of these, and this one is the prettiest! These spiders can walk on the surface of water thanks to surface tension and their hydrophobic legs and leg bristles. That explains standing on the water, but what about running across it? Apparently this repulsion of the water and the force against the water of the leg in its surface dimple acts very similar to a boat oar, causing enough of a wave behind the foot for the spider to push against.
As you probably noticed, there are more than 6 white spots on the abdomen; these spiders were named for 6 dark spots on the underside. And they are in fact fishing spiders! They subsist mainly on aquatic insects, but can also catch and eat tadpoles, frogs, and small fish, diving beneath the water’s surface up to 18 cm. This makes them one of the few spider species that preys on vertebrates. Curious about others, I found a paper describing a Black Widow that ate a house mouse (!), and a Steatoda triangulosa (a common cobweb spider found in and around houses, very much including mine) preying on a gecko!
23 Arachtober 2023
Six-Spotted Fishing Spider, Dolomedes triton
Garrett Co, MD • 11 June 2023
And along came a spider... Not sure what kind it is, but it is certainly a lovely one with an adorable butt!
Some google research suggests this could be a six-spotted fishing spider (Dolomedes triton).
This is a picture of a Dolomedes triton on the South Tract of the Patuxent Research Refuge near Laurel, Maryland.
These spiders hunt in the day & will patiently wait hours until prey comes along. They use both their eyesight and their feet to see & feel vibration from the prey. They can catch fish up to 5 times their body size. Not just fish however, they will catch & eat living creatures that both live in or fall into the water.
Six-spotted Fishing Spider (Dolomedes triton)
My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com
I was walking along a dark shady part of the creek & saw a large spider on vegetation floating in the water. It turned out to be a new species for me. It was big & pretty. Name is confusing because there are more than 6 spots on top of the abdomen. Turns out there are 6 spots on the underside where they are out of sight.
Six-spotted Fishing Spider (Dolomedes triton)
My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com
This Six-spotted Fishing Spider (Dolomedes triton) has eight spots. It is not uncommon for this species to have the two extra spots.
Cattail Pond, Patuxent Research Refuge, Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
How speedy it was across this mud flat! Had it not been moving - I would have missed it for sure. The camouflage was superb.
Dolomedes triton 20 mm length
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