Dark Fishing Spider Dolomedes Tenebrosus

Lasts about 1. 5 hours and culminates with the act of copulation, which only takes about 4. 5 minutes Sierwald & Coddington 1988 . Recent research Schwartz et al. 2013 investigating male monogamy in spiders revealed that, for this species, mating generally results in the death of the male! The haematodochal bulb on the male’s pedipalp remains inflated after copulation and he dies, with no obvious involvement from the female, who then eats him Schwartz et al. 2013 . The egg sac subsequently produced by the female is a grayish sphere, roughly 15mm in diameter, held in the jaws of the female as she wanders. (spiders.us)

When the black fishing spider shows up in Arkansas homes, it can because much excitement. The big female has a body cephalothorax and stomach that reaches about 1” long. When outstretched legs are included in the measurements, the animal can measure over 3” long. Males are about half this size. The body is a mixture of light brown and light and black gray. The legs have black rings and long spines. The stomach has 3 obvious black W-shaped marks, each of which ends in a light brown mark. This species occurs from southern Canada south to Florida and west to Texas and the Dakotas. (uark.edu)

Starts out smorgasbord of heroic male self-sacrifice in the animal world: In honeybees, males have evolved genitalia that explode into the female, causing the male to die after a single mating. In some molluscs, crustaceans, and fishes, males don’t die when they mate, however they remain permanently attached to the female, generating them unable to get extra matings. In the queenless ant Dinoponera quadriceps, the female severs the end of the copulating male s stomach, killing the male and leaving his genitalia linked to hers.  . (takepart.com)

And here is where I change my dad’s story: Spiders are useful, not bad. They eat a great range of insects, and most knowledgeable gardeners welcome them into their gardens. While fishing spiders may not live in a garden, they do their part of bug eating. Like all spiders, they’re part of the fragile complementary act in nature. When we can appreciate their amazing abilities and their role in the ecosystem, far from being frightened, we may find ourselves amazed. (sercblog.si.edu)

After mating, the female spins a spherical silk cocoon in which she lays her eggs. She watches over it and carries it around with her, on the water, till the eggs hatch. Before the spiderlings hatch, the female places the cocoon in leaves and spins a protecting web shaped like a tent or a bell around it that serves as a nursery. The female guards the cocoon till spiderlings hatch. Once hatched, the spiderlings disperse. (espacepourlavie.ca)

One of the joys of heating with a wood stove is cutting and splitting wood. There’s something satisfying about the pile of logs prepared for the fire after a couple of hours of work in the cold, crisp air. But frequently, I find some interesting stowaways in my firewood. Such was the case this week when I decided to cut down a big maple snag, all that stayed standing of a big tree that had fallen this summer. The tree had rotted near the base and was riddled with soft wood, bug galleries, and fungi. After felling the snag, I started cutting it into controllable sections with the chain saw. (roadsendnaturalist.com)

This page helped me while I stared at a big female in tears haha coming out of a hole in the floor in my new house…since then 3 weeks ago I have found 3 more females have not seen any with egg sacks still and many males in the house, generally coming out of holes and cracks in this old house throughout the day, any insight on why they could be living in a home? Is there something I could do to make this place less desirable without hurting them? I could rather not give room and board to another generation. The closest pond is a decent walk away in the back of a 50 acre property. I have been catching and releasing them away from the house which was hard as I’m terribly scared of spiders, I do have an appreciation for them although they’re quite pretty after all. (arthropodecology.com)

Crab spiders aren’t active hunters and use the art of camouflage to snag their prey. Crab spiders are named after their crab-like look with big front legs that are frequently held out to the sides of their body. These spiders come in all different colors, many of which are specially adapted to their hunting grounds. For example, the goldenrod crab spider is a bright yellow color which lets it to easily blend in with the yellow petals of goldenrods. Crab spiders are looked at as useful to people as they tend to eat many bug pests found in gardens and flower beds. Interestingly enough, scientists believe that the venom of many crab spiders is more potent than most spiders. (dnr2.maryland.gov)

Evolutionary hypothesis predicts male monogamy like that shown by the black fishing spider when females are bigger than males. Smaller animals are more probably to survive to mating age than big ones, the thinking goes, making bigger females scarcer than smaller males. And that means males must settle for just one inamorata. True to hypothesis, the female black fishing spider, whose outstretched legs span a human’s palm, outweighs her man 14-to-1. (huffingtonpost.com)

When the spider stretches out like this it’s feeling the water for vibrations and the motion of prey. Their hairs also called trichobothria can tell them how far the prey is and in what direction. Their body hairs may also be used to catch air bubbles and make the spider buoyant under water; meaning they can go short distances below the surface to catch their prey. Fishing spiders are fastidious about keeping their bodies clean, like ducks or another divers, because their hairs have to maintain their hydrophobic properties. but, unlike ducks, they do not use oils. Instead, their hairs have a waxy covering to keep them waterproof. (infinitespider.com)