# Pennsylvania Fishing Spider



## Shmudda (Nov 19, 2012)

This here is a classic photo of the Pennsylvania Fishing Spider.  It's a female that was hanging out in my wood pile.  I flicked the cover off and she flipped over on her back and just laid there, then all of a sudden in a wink she flinched one of her back leggs and turned herself over, never seen anything like that before!!

Anyways, she was about 3" end to end, which was a very nice size.

Craig


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## yooperdave (Nov 19, 2012)

Get out the deep fryer??  Man that's a little bigger than I care to see!  I ran into a couple of those on the job in an suspended ceiling...a real dark suspended ceilling!


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## Gary_602z (Nov 19, 2012)

Did I mention I HATE spiders!

Gary


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## raybonz (Nov 20, 2012)

That must be the picture before you smashed the lil bugger lol..


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## Shmudda (Nov 20, 2012)

Nope, didn't smash her.  Actually snakes and spiders are great for keeping rodents and insects at bay, and I really hate both rodents and insects!

Craig


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## ScotO (Nov 20, 2012)

Spiders fascinate me.  When we were kids, we would scout all around the house and barns looking for a good web.  Once we would find a web, they we would go on a hunt for fireflies, moths, etc. to throw into the webs.  It's amazing to watch a spider do his work.  I'm not a big fan of spiders, but they are amazing creatures......


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## raybonz (Nov 20, 2012)

Found off my front porch and appeared when the flash went off shooting sunset pic.


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## rottiman (Nov 20, 2012)

I may be mistaken, but I believe it is also called a wolf spyder.  Great pest controller in a wood pile.


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## raybonz (Nov 20, 2012)

rottiman said:


> I may be mistaken, but I believe it is also called a wolf spyder. Great pest controller in a wood pile.


Rotti if you're referring to my spider it was one big SOB with a body about 1/2" diameter! Pretty scary looking that is all I know!

Ray


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## WellSeasoned (Nov 20, 2012)

Scmudda- what kind of spider is that? ( pa fishing spider the name?) We have those all in the wood, and I can hardly stand it. Spiders freak me out, definitely have aracnaphobia (sp?) 
Those spiders are fast, and can dodge you if you try and kill it. ( I dont like killing anything, but its unfortunately a defense mechanism I have when they run at me) are they dangerous at all? My kids see them quite often in the woods.


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## rottiman (Nov 21, 2012)

raybonz said:


> Rotti if you're referring to my spider it was one big SOB with a body about 1/2" diameter! Pretty scary looking that is all I know!
> 
> Ray


 Yeah Ray, we have alot of them around here.  They are actually pretty amazing to watch.  Have found lots in the shed, they also like old lumber stacks, underside of docks, outhouses......anyplace that is dark and still.  They also will leap for a short distance to escape if necessary.  I like them in the shed as they rid my stacks of any bug infestation.


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## raybonz (Nov 21, 2012)

rottiman said:


> Yeah Ray, we have alot of them around here. They are actually pretty amazing to watch. Have found lots in the shed, they also like old lumber stacks, underside of docks, outhouses......anyplace that is dark and still. They also will leap for a short distance to escape if necessary. I like them in the shed as they rid my stacks of any bug infestation.


Funny thing is I did not see that web until the flash went off as I'd forgotten to turn off the auto flash for sunset pics. During the day the spider would sleep inside my flag bracket then come out at night. Think the front lights attracted the bugs and the spider created a restaurant to capitalize on the situation.. As big as that spider was he was pretty agile and fast too!

Ray


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## Shmudda (Nov 21, 2012)

WellSeasoned said:


> Scmudda- what kind of spider is that? ( pa fishing spider the name?) We have those all in the wood, and I can hardly stand it. Spiders freak me out, definitely have aracnaphobia (sp?)
> Those spiders are fast, and can dodge you if you try and kill it. ( I dont like killing anything, but its unfortunately a defense mechanism I have when they run at me) are they dangerous at all? My kids see them quite often in the woods.



It is a Fishing Spider very common to PA.  They do bite, but only if provoked, but the bite is not a big deal.  As I said, that was a female, the males are smaller and solid color.  Google it....pretty interesting

Craig


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## mywaynow (Nov 23, 2012)

This was the one I found a few weeks ago.  Same species for sure.


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## Curly (Dec 4, 2012)

My neighbor had a very big spider in his side yard.


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## Paulywalnut (Dec 5, 2012)

great spider to have in the woodpile. Like having a roving junkyard dog against other pesty insects that eat your precious wood.
They do their best to avoid humans. Be nice to them.


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## mywaynow (Dec 6, 2012)

Since reading posts in this thread and on the one I posted about early season woes, I have not killed any of these.  It kind of feels like it did when I first started to watch small 8 point bucks walk under my treestand without shooting them.  Tough to do, but fun and rewarding at the same time.  The monster I posted was guarding my beech.  After burning that stuff this fall, I understand why he was doing that!  Great burning wood.


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## Paulywalnut (Dec 10, 2012)

Yea they don"t bother anybody. All Gods creatures.


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## sculptor (Dec 22, 2012)

It's from the Genus Dolomedes. In fact, that species has sexual size dimorphism meaning the males and the females look alike, but there is a size difference in the male and the female (females being larger). They also have a common name of nursery spider (because of the web it builds) or fishing spider (because they live near water). When the female is about to hatch her egg sac she builds a nursery web and guards them. A wolf spider is a common name for the Lycosidae genus. They are a beefier spider that get their name because they run along the ground and when the females egg sac hatches, the babies catch a ride on the mothers abdomen.

An interesting fact about them. They have hairs under their abdomen that will hold an air bubble as it goes under water. It can actually access this air bubble and breathe under water. They have book lungs so they breathe a little different that those with lungs. 

Both beneficial spiders that eat things you dislike even more...or should. 

I started to take entomology in college but dropped out. Now it's just trivial info swimming in my brain.


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## raybonz (Dec 22, 2012)

sculptor said:


> It's from the Genus Dolomedes. In fact, that species has sexual size dimorphism meaning the males and the females look alike, but there is a size difference in the male and the female (females being larger). They also have a common name of nursery spider (because of the web it builds) or fishing spider (because they live near water). When the female is about to hatch her egg sac she builds a nursery web and guards them. A wolf spider is a common name for the Lycosidae genus. They are a beefier spider that get their name because they run along the ground and when the females egg sac hatches, the babies catch a ride on the mothers abdomen.
> 
> An interesting fact about them. They have hairs under their abdomen that will hold an air bubble as it goes under water. It can actually access this air bubble and breathe under water. They have book lungs so they breathe a little different that those with lungs.
> 
> ...


You make my brain hurt..


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