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Fun Facts
Did You Know?
Surface vibration detection drives the hunting strategy. A six-spotted fishing spider with legs on the water surface detects the ripples produced by a struggling insect, a small fish, or a tadpole at distances several times the spider's own body length. The spider orients toward the vibration source and moves rapidly across the water surface to intercept it. The attack involves seizing the prey with the front legs and fangs, then retreating to a solid surface to consume it
If This Animal Could Talk...
"Watch closely, respect my space, and let my habitat explain the rest of the story."
A spider running across the surface of a North Louisiana pond or sitting motionless on a floating log with legs spread wide across the water: that is not a spider that fell in. Dolomedes triton, the six-spotted fishing spider, lives at the water's edge and on the water surface, uses surface tension to support its weight, and catches prey by detecting vibrations transmitted through the water surface to its legs.
Six-spotted fishing spiders rank among the largest spiders in North Louisiana by body mass, with large females reaching leg spans of three inches or more, and their presence on water surfaces in wetland habitats throughout the region startles observers who do not expect a large spider to be running toward them across a pond.
A Few More Facts
How they hunt and forage: Dolomedes triton, the six-spotted fishing spider, lives at the water's edge and on the water surface, uses surface tension to support its weight, and catches prey by detecting vibrations transmitted through the water surface to its legs. At rest, that posture reads as a spider that is simultaneously ready to move in any direction and in no hurry to do so, which accurately describes the animal's behavioral state at a water surface feeding station. A six-spotted fishing spider with legs on the water surface detects the ripples produced by a struggling insect, a small fish, or a tadpole at distances several times the spider's own body length.
Live birth or eggs? no
When young are born: See the detailed species sections below.
Photo Gallery
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Accessibility
Accessibility
Six-spotted fishing spiders on water surfaces adjacent to boardwalks, piers, and observation platforms at North Louisiana wetland sites present for observation without terrain difficulty. The large size of mature females makes them visible from standing height at two to three feet from the water surface. Wetland observation platforms and boardwalks at North Louisiana wildlife management areas and state parks provide access to the water edge habitats where this species concentrates.
Six-spotted fishing spiders at North Louisiana water edges will be there next spring when the water warms. They will be there the spring after. The pond supports the prey base that supports the spider that sits at the surface that watches for the prey.
Every part of that chain holds at a healthy North Louisiana wetland. Finding and documenting the spider at the surface marks the chain's integrity at that site, at that moment, in a database that accumulates those marks across all the healthy water edges in the region and builds, slowly, the picture of what North Louisiana's wetlands actually contain.
A headlamp at a North Louisiana pond edge on a warm July night, directed at the water surface from two feet above it: the eyeshine of the fishing spiders positioned on the film, waiting, reflects back in greenish-white points across the dark water. How many points varies by pond. All of them belong there.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Six-Spotted Fishing Spider live in North Louisiana?
Yes. A spider running across the surface of a North Louisiana pond or sitting motionless on a floating log with legs spread wide across the water: that is not a spider that fell in. Six-spotted fishing spiders rank among the largest spiders in North Louisiana by body mass, with large females reaching leg spans of three inches or more, and their presence on water surfaces in wetland habitats throughout the region startles observers who do not expect a large spider to be running toward them across a pond.
Males are smaller, as with most North Louisiana spiders, and more often encountered on vegetation near water than on the water surface itself.
How do you identify Six-Spotted Fishing Spider?
Large females reach body lengths of nearly an inch, with leg spans up to three inches. Males are smaller, as with most North Louisiana spiders, and more often encountered on vegetation near water than on the water surface itself. The dorsal coloration moves gray-brown to dark brown with the pale lateral stripes providing a diagnostic feature for species identification. The legs show banding. The body carries enough water-resistant structure to allow the spider to dive below the surface when threatened and hold position underwater for several minutes. A six-spotted fishing spider on the water surface with legs spread displays the distinctive posture that makes the family recognizable: front legs extended forward and to the sides, held flat against the water surface, detecting vibrations. At rest, that posture reads as a spider that is simultaneously ready to move in any direction and in no hurry to do so, which accurately describes the animal's behavioral state at a water surface feeding station.
What does Six-Spotted Fishing Spider eat?
Dolomedes triton, the six-spotted fishing spider, lives at the water's edge and on the water surface, uses surface tension to support its weight, and catches prey by detecting vibrations transmitted through the water surface to its legs. At rest, that posture reads as a spider that is simultaneously ready to move in any direction and in no hurry to do so, which accurately describes the animal's behavioral state at a water surface feeding station.
A six-spotted fishing spider with legs on the water surface detects the ripples produced by a struggling insect, a small fish, or a tadpole at distances several times the spider's own body length.
Is Six-Spotted Fishing Spider dangerous to people?
It is not aggressive toward people. Bites are uncommon and usually happen only when a spider is trapped against skin, so observe without handling
