I was sitting along the edge of the river turning over stones, and occasionally one of these dusky, gray spiders would come shooting out from underneath one. Most of the time, they would disappear back underneath another rock as quickly as they appeared. They are lightning-fast. They could even escape by dashing across the surface of the water to another pile of rocks. It was difficult to follow one and keep up with where it went. Turning over stones to find it again was tricky. It felt like that magician’s game where a ball is placed under one of three cups, the cups are speedily switched around, and then you have to guess which cup the ball is under. The spider seemed to never be under the rock I thought it was under. I would turn over a rock and see it bolt out from the one beside it. It would disappear under another rock as it continued to play the game and give me the slip. I was very grateful when one of the spiders finally paused out in the open for a moment and kindly allowed me to take its photo.
When researching which spider this is, I narrowed it down to two similar but different kinds, a wolf spider and a fishing spider. Let’s compare them. The first area to consider is the location where they are found. They are both terrestrial, but fishing spiders are found near bodies of water and can move across the surface of water. Another thing to notice is their legs. Fishing spiders have longer legs which helps them walk on the surface of water. Wolf spider’s legs are shorter and stocker. Thirdly, is the placement of their eyes which they both have eight. Fishing spiders have two rows of four eyes. Wolf spiders have three rows—two eyes, then two larger eyes, then four small eyes. I imagine this can be difficult to discern. Color can also be a helpful clue. Fishing spiders tend to be gray or brown with banded legs. Wolf spiders are also different shades of brown or gray and frequently have a light or dark stripe running down their backs.
My spider seems to fit the description of a fishing spider more than a wolf spider. Beyond the name or category, I love the color and pattern of this spider.
Fishing Spiders
Fishing spiders don’t spin webs to catch their prey. They roam around looking for prey or they will sit at the edge of the water, place their legs in the water, and detect the movement of insects or even small fish to catch. Fishing spiders are nursery web spiders. The female carries around her egg sac and when the eggs are near hatching, she will suspend the sac in the protection of folded leaves.