Dock spiders - a face only a mother could love!

It watched me carefully.

open the screen on a warm fall day

Who knew?! Since our near-by bog has dried up in the August heat, this one I found on our screen. OUTDOORS!

With eight eyes and eight legs there is a symmetry to the critters.

See my finger (right) for the size!

They hunt using their sense of touch, sitting on the water in the nighttime. Birds are their main predator, and this makes sense to become nocturnal. What freaks some people out is sitting on the dock, while an irritated spider senses your footfall, and they change their location. They can bite, but not like the way the praying mantis who pinched me!

Research tells me that that sit with back legs on land, others floating on water waiting for bugs to land. Then the bugs are toast!

Dolomedes (pronounced /dɒləˈmiːdiːz/) is a genus of large spiders of the family Pisauridae. They are also known as fishing spiders, raft spiders, dock spiders or wharf spiders. Almost all Dolomedes species are semi-aquatic.

A fishing spider (family Pisauridae) in the genus Dolomedes. They will wander some distance from water in search for prey.

I have a few other spider photos.

darner dragonfly with spider close by!