Fishing Spider or Wolf Spider?

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.

Toad Bug

I was sitting at the edge of the river seeing what interesting animals might wander by, when this little creature hopped out in front of me. At first, I thought it was a frog. I leaned over for a closer look, it hopped again, and at second glance, it still seemed like a tiny frog. I slowly moved over to examine it closer again, and realized that it was… an insect? I watched it for a few minutes, and I finally saw its legs as it crawled out onto these small pebbles. What in the world is this amazing little animal?! I just had to watch it hop again, so I nudged it with a leaf. It seriously hopped just like a frog or a toad.

Meet the Toad Bug! It has a small, oval shape. It is 3/8” long and is two-thirds as wide as it is long. It could easily fit within the space of my thumbnail. It has bulging eyes at the sides of the head and the sides of the prothorax are projecting. Its legs are yellowish with brownish bands. Its mottled dark gray color blends in well with the surrounding stones and gives it great camouflage. Its diet consists of smaller insects which there are plenty of along the shore.

Seeing this interesting creature was a reminder that I never really know what wondrous lifeforms I will encounter or the inspiring experiences I will have every time I am out in nature. I hope to see you out there.

Resource
Milne, Lorus Johnson, and Margery Milne. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders. Knopf : distributed by Random House, 1980.

Grasshoppers

By the River
I found this grasshopper on a stone down by the river. It seems more like a rockhopper rather than a grasshopper. Maybe I’ll name it the River Rockhopper. Along with moths, grasshoppers have superb camouflage, and most often, they are hopping away as I unknowingly walk up on them. There is plenty of grass and small forbs growing in between the rocks, so it should be easy for this grasshopper to stay on or close to the rocks to hide in plain sight.

Out in the Meadow
I have been seeing lots of grasshoppers out in the meadow and they blend in well with the dry, yellow grass. This one reminds me of a grass seed head. Notice that the wings on this grasshopper are not completely developed. Robins were scattered throughout the meadow this morning. They were scurrying about lunging for grasshoppers. They were successful too. It is hard to see, but the one in the photo just caught one and has it in its beak.

Water Penny Beetle

Lately, I have been poking around the edge of the river turning over stones, watching birds, listening to the river, and whatnot. There are many aquatic animals living and hiding out underneath rocks. My latest discovery is the water penny beetle. Along with the stonefly (posted on Aug. 1), this is another animal that is an indication of good water quality. The water penny thrives in flowing, unpolluted water that is also free from lots of sediments and algae. You will find them clinging to the undersides of rocks and logs in the water because they need to stay moist, stay hidden from predators, and are sensitive to light. That said, they will come out from hiding at night to eat on the upper surface. The larvae’s diet consists mostly of algae which are scraped off using rasps on their legs. They have dome-shaped bodies with flexible plates that allow them to hug closely to the surface and hold on. They have feathered gills under the abdomen that take in dissolved oxygen from the water.

It is interesting to realize that a larval stage of a beetle can be aquatic because I usually imagine it as a terrestrial grub underground or tunneling through the wood of a distressed or dead tree.

The adults resemble typical beetles. They are black or brown, oval, and have somewhat flattened bodies. The lifespan of the adults only lasts up to a couple of weeks—long enough to mate and for the female to lay eggs. Not only is there a short window in which to find an adult, they are only 4-6 mm long. I imagine it could be kind of tricky finding and identifying one.

As always, I hope this short post sparks your curiosity to do more research, go out to find one, and make more discoveries along the way.

Resources
Bug o’the Week – Water Penny Redux – Riveredge Nature Center. https://www.riveredgenaturecenter.org/bug-othe-week-water-penny-redux/#:~:text=The%20larvae%20of%20some%20species,into%20adults%20the%20next%20year. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.

Hammond, George. “Psephenidae (Water-Penny Beetles).” Animal Diversity Web, https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Psephenidae/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.

“Water Penny Beetle Larvae.” Missouri Department of Conservation, https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/water-penny-beetle-larvae. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.

Skippers

Skippers are butterflies that partially resemble a moth because of their hairy bodies and small, triangular wings. They have noticeably large eyes and short antennae. When they perched, they would either hold their wings flat and parallel to their bodies or open with the forewings angled above the hind wings like a plane. The yellow-orange color of the underside of their wings was so beautiful and captured the warmth of the summer sun. It allowed them to blend well with the surrounding dry vegetation. I liked the contrast between their soft, quiet bodies and the crispy, crunchy grass. I often stirred them up from the ground before I saw them. They quickly skipped through the air and lit nearby. They were friendly and gave me a feeling of levity when I was around them. If I moved slowly, they allowed me to kneel down to get a closer look. I found them drinking nectar on small flowers like the nonnative teasel that has spread out across the south meadow.

Sources
Family Hesperiidae (Skippers) | Butterflies and Moths of North America. https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy/Hesperiidae. Accessed 11 Aug. 2023.

Stonefly Shed

Immature stoneflies live underwater (technically they’re called naiads), then crawl onto shore to go through their last molt and become a winged adult. The final molt leaves behind a beautiful and fascinating shell called the exuviae.

The naiad feeds on plants, decaying organic matter, and other insects. The nymphal stage lasts from one to four years. The adult stage lasts only for a few weeks, long enough to mate and lay eggs.

The adults are earth tones mostly some hue of brown or yellow. They have fairly long antennae, wings that fold back along their body, and two long cerci (tail-like appendages).

The presence of stoneflies in a river system is a sign of good water quality because they require clean, well-oxygenated water. A rocky aggregate bottom with high dissolved oxygen levels is often a productive area for stoneflies.

Cicada Shell

I’ve been hearing the sound of cicadas buzzing as I walk around the arboretum, and I will occasionally see one buzz by me. Hearing them buzz recalls memories of the hot, humid summers of the East Coast where I grew up. There were pine trees around my maternal grandparents’ house that always had these shells attached to the bark—the nymphs crawl out of the soil to molt into an adult, leaving this amazing papery exoskeleton behind. It is a treasure to come across one of these sheds out at the arboretum. It reminds me how nature is powerful at building connections to memories and feelings of my life.

Ants & Aphids

While hunting for acorn weevils, I came across small groups of aphids and ants on the stems of the oak trees. The aphids feed on the sap of plants and secrete a liquid known as honeydew. Ants are drawn to this sugar-rich substance and harvest it as a food source. In return, the ants will protect the aphids from predators like ladybugs. In reading about this symbiotic relationship, I found some fascinating articles. One article talked about one ant species storing the aphid eggs in the colony to protect them over the winter. Another article reported ants moving aphids to other plants to feed and clipping off their wings so they are unable to fly. One article talked about how ants will stroke the aphids with their antennae to stimulate them to secrete honeydew. As a result, some aphid species lost the ability to naturally secrete waste, and depend on ants to do it for them.

This is fascinating! I encourage you to read about the interesting research and discoveries being made about the relationship between ants and aphids. My intentions are always to pique your interest to explore, discover, wonder, enjoy, etc. the natural world. See you out there!