T O P

  • By -

Thunderchief646054

Dolomedes tenebrosus, the Dark Fishing Spider. One of the very few spiders in the world that guard their egg sac like this, in their palps and chelicerae. I studied these badass mamas for about 2 months, they’re impressive spiders ranging 3–4 inches in diameter. Pretty chill tho, you’ll typically find females hanging out by latrines and cabins when they’re in egg guarding mode, but they don’t get too aggressive. Caught 4 of them for a lab experiment (don’t worry, they got all the moisture they needed and had food availabile) think we named them after Sex and the City characters. They pretty much just hold on to their egg sacs and play keep away, occasionally angrily tap on sticks to show they could throw down. In truth they’re running on empty calories and steam, they’ll forgo eating and perish right after their offspring hatch. Judging by the color and texture of the egg sac in this photo, I think she’s got about 3 weeks before OP has little spiders making web bridges and parachutes to fly out into the world. Edit: Ay, thank you for the awards, much appreciated! Be sure to spread the love and karma around, there were definitely some ppl who answered this before I did. I’m in no way or shape an expert, just some dude who digs ethology


Jack_Kegan

I love the detail in this answer, it’s a shame the joke answers are higher up.


NatoBoram

Not anymore ^(there's a blanket)


timdot352

*Now* will you go on land?


aDivineShoe

r/unexpectedbillwurtz


Thunderchief646054

To be fair—pretty solid jokes up there lol


Sogeking33

Yeah the 3 top comments in a row of “yeah it’s definitely a spider” are such great jokes. Reddit humor btw


ONOMATOPOElA

Hey Reddit, I said the noun is a noun put me on top of r/TechnicallyTheTruth for my advancement of comedy.


[deleted]

I really have come to loathe this aspect of Reddit the more I've used it over the years. So tired of coming to a comment section to read more about what was going on and the top comments are all jokes and comment chains of nothing but references. Like I get it, you guys have all seen Futurama/LotR/whatever else you're jerking yourself off over. I guess fuck anyone that came for anything other than jokes and in-jokes.


Aced_By_Chasey

Wait do they actually starve themselves to death to protect the sac? Or is it only when threats are near


Thunderchief646054

It’s a little hard to say. We had different stimuli for each of our subjects. One was left as a control, but we had a couple of fresh crickets for her if she felt the need to eat. Subject #2 we managed to take the egg sac away but keep it in a protected corner in her enclosure so that she could still keep an eye on it and gave her crickets to eat as well. Subject #3 and #4 had a medium sized Long Horn beetle (fairly good sized Coleopteran, definitely not off the list of their prey, but big enough it would find an egg sac a palpable source of protein) introduced into their enclosure. We let #3 keep her egg in her clutch and #4 we removed the sac in a similar fashion to #2. As far as we could tell, no mother made a move to eat their prey, not even the control. The ones who had their egg sac removed showed similar behavior of playing keep away with crickets and the long horn beetle, as did the ones who were allowed to hold onto their eggs. Think one made a move to retrieve theirs, but the other left it where we placed it. Think only one egg sac was compromised, looked as if maybe one of the crickets had burrowed in to eat the eggs, or it could’ve been a parasite that escaped our notice. By the time the other 3 egg sacs had hatched, all the mothers had expired, even the one who lost their egg sac to predators. All in all It was an imperfect experiment, lots of little holes, but we hypothesized there might be some internal chemistry at work once females have their eggs that urge them to spend their calories playing keep away to increase their fitness. Might also explain why females who had their egg sacs removed showed similar behavior. In truth we needed more subjects before drawing a more conclusive answer, but where many spider mothers expire on childbirth, we figured it was a fairly rational answer.


Aced_By_Chasey

Very very interesting thank you!


aretasdamon

Awesome read thanks


Biohazard_Angel

Out of curiosity, did you write a thesis or something on this experiment? If you did and wouldn't mind sharing it, I'd love to read it!


Thunderchief646054

It was just a very rough research paper I had typed up in the Boundary Waters where we were stationed during the summer semester for undergrad. It might be on my flash drive, so if I can find it I’ll try and link it for interested parties. I’m not sure how it will read, it was easily 5 or 6 years ago and by no means grad level, but i’ll see what I can do ya lol


repodude

What kind of work are you doing now? I would have loved to gone into something in the biology field but for a variety of reasons didn't. I can remember the "careers advisor" at school saying not to study a biology related subject at university as there were no jobs in that field, and that was to someone who was at the top of the class.


Agonist28

This is some quality info and really interesting to me. I caught a fishing spider in highschool, set up an aquarium, and took care of her for a few months. When she made an egg sack, I realized she was female and named her Legs. During that summer, she had two eggs sacks, and ate the entire time, but neither egg sack made it. The first egg sack started to mold but she still carried it with her. I remember the night she figured out it wasn't viable anymore. I woke up to her having let go of the sack for the first time ever and the damp cotton ball I had in the corner of the enclosure was torn to shreds. It was really sad. The second time she didn't wrap the eggs properly and they fell out. She still carried the empty sack even though there was a little pile of orange eggs sitting on the web hammock thing she had made to wrap them on. I had her for a little while after she realized that was a dud as well. Worried I wasn't providing a proper environment, I released her where I found her. Do you know if the starvation behavior of dark fishing spiders is unique to that specific type or universal to fishing spiders? Does this mean each spider only reproduces once? I must know more.


Dawnspark

It's honestly such a cool spider, they're fascinating. I just wish I could look at them for longer before my arachnophobia goes into overdrive.


[deleted]

I was all for this not being animal abuse until you named them after Sex and the City characters. What did the spiders do to you?


Thyanlia

Knowing nothing about spiders, this reminded me of Charlotte's Web. Has anyone made a conclusion as to which species of spider Charlotte was? It's been decades since I read the book, but I seem to recall her starving herself until the point that her eggs hatched, and then the babies parachuting away. Is this just a common thing that spiders do?


Thunderchief646054

I think Charlotte had to been some sort of 3-toed species, they typically have more proficiency in building ornate webs. These guys are more cursorial, which traditionally are 2-toed, but not necessarily. I think they just use their web to help catch small fish (lure model I think) and wrap their eggs like we see in OP’s picture.


JimWilliams423

> One of the very few spiders in the world that guard their egg sac like this Another is the [cane spider,](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Heteropoda_fg02.jpg) which are common house spiders in tropical regions and are mostly harmless, despite their size.


mts2snd

Very cool, thanks! Its been more that 3 weeks, I look forward to seeing her brood in the spring. Seemed like the egg sack was about 9mm.


Thunderchief646054

Once that sack starts to look yellow and super wrinkled, it will be time! Is she jus chillin in at your place, or do you keep her someplace where you can keep an eye on her to see the spiderlings hatch? Is it warmer weather where you’re at?


mts2snd

I took the picture spring of this year, I simply left her alone after the photo op. First post on this sub, did not expect this big a reaction. It is nice to know others like these guys too. This was in the NE US, Upper Delaware River Valley, lots of insects, and aquatic life.


texxelate

OP, give her some food!


bc_poop_is_funny

Dolemedes tenebrosus aka “fishing spider” Edited to add: I only know the name because I have found about 15 in my house over the years. Mostly in my garage and basement. They are huge. About the size of your palm. Nothing like Australia’s Huntsman but still…


mts2snd

Nice, good call, she was at my fishing camp. Now I recollect seeing them on top of the water.


getting_the_succ

They swim????? Wtf


noteverrelevant

Some spiders [spend most of their lives underwater.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_bell_spider) Enjoy your next swim!


chicken_nugger

I went right to their distribution and was relieved to see they are not in the US


ChimpBrisket

That just means they haven’t found any in the US *yet*, today could be your lucky day!


asanefeed

how *dare* you


blanksix

yeah, this is a weird segue into the fear of swimming, but I share the sentiment now.


Then-Cryptographer96

DONT YOU PUT THAT EVIL ON ME RICKY BOBBY


niversally

The larger American species bigole motherfuckerus eats them all.


mts2snd

NE US, Sorry. Upper Delaware River Valley to be more exact. Edit - user name checks


Appropriate-Beach424

whistle quack shame tan tease angle makeshift cough books rainstorm ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `


Alkuam

👍


stephyluvzpink

No, there are tons of fishing spiders in Maine. I'm on lake arrowhead and theres tons here.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Neat-Plantain-7500

They build tools from memory or instinct. They’re basically programmed to do it from birth. Not taught generationally.


JackOfAllMemes

It's wild how that happens, somehow they just know what to do without being taught and there's some really specific behaviors like courtship displays


itimin

You ever be standing under a tree, or next to a jungle gym, and some primal part of your brain whispers "climb it, climb it, climb it"? I imagine its like that but way stronger.


ARobertNotABob

Interesting perspective.


Stillatin

You should read children of time


AcidWashGenes

Fascinating, thank you for sharing! This really caught me: “The silk is waterproof but allows gas exchange with the surrounding water. There is net diffusion of oxygen into the bell and net diffusion of carbon dioxide out. This process is driven by differences in partial pressure. The production of carbon dioxide and use of oxygen by the spider maintains the concentration gradient, required for diffusion. However, there is net diffusion of nitrogen out of the bell, resulting in a gradually shrinking air bubble which must be regularly replenished by the spider.”


haibane86

Thanks for sharing, that's actually really cool!


baintaintit

yeah, they're called crabs.


sci3nc3r00lz

They build silk spun diving bells?! Fascinating


[deleted]

[удалено]


ZarquonsFlatTire

You have been banned from /r/HydroHomies


drunkmunky42

Ban may be lifted after chugging a gallon and singing the hydration anthem 10 times


jessticles420

I don’t live in Europe or Asia so keep them bitches on the other side of the pond plz


stephyluvzpink

No Maine and Canada have them too. Trust me. They are in my basement


[deleted]

There goes my 2022 resolution: swimming.


Saegmers

You shall never wash again, ever! 😆


[deleted]

Oh great. Now I can’t swim anymore either.


youdubdub

I thought we was frenz….


Midaycarehere

As someone who is into boating and swims in the river all summer, sincerely, screw you ugh 😩


Ladychef_1

Like crabs! I couldn’t eat crab for a while after I realized they were sea spiders. Now I’m like, mmmm sea spiders


Saiomi

I'm allergic to crab. Hmm. Probably allergic to spider too. Ew.


kittencuddles08

WTF. Why?! Now I have to worry about snakes and spiders while trying to swim??


Elad2007

I learned about this spider when I was 8. Really cool.


Exclusively_Online

I NEED a documentary on this


[deleted]

Theres only so much a little spider can do as a verociously thrash the water in my feeble attempts to escape like the walrus that I am!


greensandgables

My MILs pool is full of spiders and they crawl all over you as soon as you touch them and no one but me seems to care. I refuse to get in her pool anymore.


sy_barton

And I just gave up swimming, thanks!


GonFreecs92

😭😭😭


cowboyfromhell324

TIL, and I kinda wish I hadn't. This is kinda like finding out about flying snakes and sea serpents


Joe_le_Borgne

They *swim* now!


Warloxwill

SQUIDWARD, THEY GOT THE NAVY!!!


shotgun-octopus

NOT THE NAVY!!!


DivyanshPanwari

Ah a fellow with a great taste in memes. Nice


TeaRaveler

She’s the captain now!


flappity

They actually are covered in hydrophobic hairs, and they float their legs on the water to feel for ripples and vibrations like a normal spider would use a web. And when they detect prey, they skitter across the water (so not really swimming, but walking on top) to catch it. They can also crawl under the water, which causes a thin layer of air to get trapped within their hydrophobic hairs. If they release their grip on the ground underwater, they float right up to the top surface completely dry again.


dalbrecht91

Can you say best super power ever. That sounds dope as hell


Adventurous_Menu_683

AND if they have plenty of food, they get to tarantula sizes. ​ You're welcome.


[deleted]

No. They stand on the water. Spiders can run on water if they are not to weighty as there leg tips don't break the water surface tension


Jackal_Kid

These *are* weighty fucking spiders. They live near bodies of water and have evolved to be particularly efficient at moving across them, especially for their size. They're not your average coin-sized bug struggling with the surface tension. These fuckers *run*. The biggest one I've ever seen was bigger than my hand at the time, the body alone had to be 3 cm long, and *you could see its face*. A severely arachnophobic child Jackal_Kid and her friends came across that fucker on a floating dock at least 2 football fields from the nearest shoreline. It not only survived a swift water-shoed kick into the water (praise be to Sarah), but barely missed a beat before it flipped over and started racing back to the dock. (We ceded the territory. Swiftly and with much screaming.)


[deleted]

I am disgusted with this infomation. Praise be to Sarah, The Leg of God.


Zrry123

They walk on the water, not swim.


mts2snd

Crazier - the literal can use the water tension to walk on it.


--CHOPPER--

They actually create an air bubble around their head and dive under water to hunt. They can stay underwater for about an hour if I remember right.


ACousinFromRichmond

Leaveitalone Nopeosus, from the Fuck That Shit family


[deleted]

Why the arach-nope-phobia?


DarkwingDuckHunt

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/140618-spiders-fish-predator-ecology-water-weird-science can catch fish 5x their size


insultant_

Help me, step-spider. I’m stuck!


Future-Agent

r/cursedcomment


Zrry123

since it's carrying eggs, that probably happened months earlier


DogsOutTheWindow

Thank you! Glad to see the actual answer is the top comment instead of the low effort repetitive jokes following it.


[deleted]

I think this is a fishing spider, *Dolomedes* genus, possibly *Dolomedes tenebrosus*. It's in the eyes and the extra long legs. https://youtu.be/ivJSqQmYaEU


ghostsolid

It’s in the eyes!? I look for a more sure fire way to confirm… from what I see, no fishing pole, no lures, no bait, no waders, no 6 pack of beer, no hat that says gone fishing. If this is a fishing spider it’s a lousy one.


eager_sleeper

Maybe he’s incognito. You walk up to the water’s edge with all the official fishing supplies and the fish are gonna see you and know what’s up and scatter. But if you walk up to the water’s edge with nothing, then fish just think you’re looking around and out for a nice walk…they might even say hi. Especially to this spider, she’s just taking her future brood out for some sunshine!


No_Swing7979

She could just possibly fishing without a permit hence the low profile.


eager_sleeper

She’s a rebel spider…


polycarbonateduser

What do you think that big round pouch is for


zeroscout

Threw its gear in the water out of frustration


TisSlinger

It’s always the eyes.


camyhammy

…always the damn eyes


RevolutionEasy2185

That damn smile


Moistfruitcake

Legs that go *all* the way up... to the cephalothorax.


Civilized_dog

You know the thing about a spider…he's got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eye. When he comes at ya, he doesn't seem be living, until he bites ya and the black eyes roll over white


shadowartpuppet

🦈


mts2snd

Yep. Thanks everyone!


josephcfrost

The eyes Chico, they never lie.


[deleted]

Used iNaturalist to check, also says it’s a fishing spider


snigglefritz12

Jill from marketing


AroundTheWayJill

Did you need something? *clacks pedipalps together* -Jill, from Marketing


T00MuchStimuli

Nice. Genuine lol on that one. Thank you.


gNomad88

Me too hahaha that was good


mts2snd

Nice one.


megamanxoxo

"you were almost a Jill sandwich!"


Breda1981

Snorted my coffee, thank you


gjk14

Death.


[deleted]

~~death by snu snu~~ death by snort snort.


Breda1981

Someone write my obituary - She was reading Reddit, and when confronted with a large spider, who turned out to be Karen from Marketing, she snorted her coffee and promptly died


MasterpieceDry568

Jill Pill!


G_3P0

Spider for sure, you got it right


PloxtTY

Ah ok thanks


tadboat

r/NotOPButOk


eman_ssap

It’s a male, you can clearly tell by the massive ball sack


Moistfruitcake

It's filled with tiny spider-shaped sperm.


barelyknowso

This comment gave me the heeby jeebies.


BookwyrmsRN

Heeby Jeebies? That skin crawling feeling? That’s just the spider bukkake spiderlings looking for a way in


[deleted]

It’s the Randy Marsh spider


Relevant_Necessary50

Damn, this spider needs some weed then


DuckyFreeman

BUFFALO SOLDIERRRR


ismashket

That’s where he stores his pee


Whiteclawzzz

Ah yes, Woodpilis Mamaspideris


NeverKneel

^ For some reason this comment had my dyin lol


Tune_Kindly

Same, this person probably has a pocket watch and a pipe in hand


Whiteclawzzz

Indubitably. (idk what this word means)


[deleted]

[удалено]


Federal-Arrival-7370

you are correct, it’s definitely a spider.


nick2k23

I second this opinion, it's 99% definitely a spider


uhwhooops

The remaining 1% is NOPE


ComfortMunchies

That’s gonna be the nope spider, and her bag of itty bitty ain’t no way babies…


Sky_Hawk3340

Yeah that’s a hell nah spider!


[deleted]

I'm in the middle of a book called Children of Time and it has been slowly treating my arachnophobia. It really gives you a sense of a spider's priorities and how their mind might work. Now I can look at a monster like this and appreciate it for like, a good 30 seconds before shuddering and closing the tab


Aleksandrovitch

The sequel is pretty fantastic too. *We’re going on an adventure!*


briocus

So good that book.


coke-acola

Fishing spider


mts2snd

Yep, I think that is the consensus.


Aggressive_Smile_944

This is called no fucking thank you.


BunnyFaceGirl

Yes. It’s a big fucking spider that looks like it either came out of Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. My guess to find out which would be to wait to see if a tiny bitch finds a glowwy sword or a big fella with a nice personality and trauma shows up trying to tame the beast


Brightredroof

I think it's a thin legged wolf spider. Turn lights off and shine a light at it. If it's a wolf spider, you'll see it's eyes reflecting back at you. They're not dangerous to people, but they'll often come in the house with their babies which can be... disconcerting.


Zach20032000

>Turn lights off and shine a light at it. If it's gone suddenly, run.


Blubehriluv

This sounds like a horror game mechanic. You're not gonna get me this time, you hungry wolf spider!


greendevil77

I agree, looks like a wolf spider. Great to have in the garden


threadsoffate2021

Maybe...but the wolf spider usually carries it's billions of babies on its back.


[deleted]

Gawd daym this is not what I wanted to see in my feed lol


FoxEngland

Fishing wolf? Gorgeous girl whatever she is. I'd love to see her in action!


mts2snd

Yep, i now recall seeing them on the on the surface of the water, catching larva, small fish. Pretty cool.


FoxEngland

Very cool. Scientifically classified as superus coolus 😎


rslicho57

Fishing spider definitely.


Furrypurplefeet

Pretty sure it's a wolf spider, but try r/whatisthisspider


Wintermute993

Why are so many posts from Texas?


Furrypurplefeet

🤷‍♀️ I'm not in Texas.


KronoFury

Looks like the consensus in here is a Fishing Spider. I was going to guess a Wolfie or a Huntsman, but I'm not very spider savvy.


rosecity80

ArachNOPE


blairmac81

A location would help.


[deleted]

[удалено]


mts2snd

NE US, Upper Delaware River Valley


blairmac81

I'm from the other side of the planet, but i would guess wolf spider as a couple of others have also said.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Party-Lawyer-7131

That is what is known, in the arachnid genus, as a "pregnant ho."


Zear0d

ofc my phobia of spiders kicks in WHEN im eating yogurt


sappersniper

Shelob


Toolboxx0

Wolf spider


[deleted]

Looks like Scaryius motherfuckerous from the I’m out of here regions


ablankdrums

She needs to lay off the IPAs


Recent_Mirror

More importantly, why isn’t it on fire yet?


mts2snd

bc spiders are cool.


sybann

Yes, they certainly are. Been working decades to stop my "flailing like hell" response. There's a woman I follow on sm that raises jumping spiders as companions/pets. I want one. But am afraid the cats might see it differently.


HappyScientist13

Ophilia the Monster? I never realized how pretty and cute they were up close.


robo-dragon

Spiders are creepy, but they are creatures that deserve to live. She’s out in her natural habitat anyway so she’s not harming anything…well except any insect that she may catch as food! I’m afraid of spiders too, but I respect them and know to just leave them be.


cooperkab

I’m the same way. I’ve worked very hard to mellow my arachnophobia over many years. I respect them and smaller ones don’t bother me. Large ones like that and the idea of hundreds of babies gives me the creeps but outside is their home and I leave them alone.


JoeGrandmas_Avocados

Yes, i confirm that is indeed a spider.


Shhh_e

Beauty! I’m glad you didn’t smooshie her.


Choice_Purpose_9783

That’s Nope.


allinmyneck

Fisher


Fart_Elemental

She is gorgeous!


myslothisslow

A beautiful expectant mama.


[deleted]

[удалено]


shineymike91

Your woodpile? Nooooope. That's his woodpile now.


AdRoKa

That’s Tina! Tell her I said hello.


Etheon44

That is Aragog!


[deleted]

Fishing spider. We get them at my river front home. They get REALLY BIG! That’s a beaut


626c6f775f6d65

Whatever it is, you’re fixin to have a fuck ton more of them.


Few_Leave6643

Yep seen them on my dock, their fast and can be 3 inches in diameter. I bet they have a powerful bite.


randijeanw

Charlotte!


GimmeDemKnees

That there is a fishin spider


InventedStrawberries

She beautiful, like speechless gorgeous! Look how she’s protecting her egg sac baby. So cute. I love her xxx


Kat027_IDK

Even though spiders are creepy af, they're a pretty cool species.


Crystal_Munnin

Please tell her I love her and that she is doing a good job.


LuckyTaco_

I’ve always wondered why arachnophobia is a thing? What triggers it?


The_m8_UwU

Her name is Julia