Stats

Lifespan: 1-2 yrs
Size: Large
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Nocturnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: North America
Movement: Walking
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Uncommon

About

A pale, tree-bark-colored fishing spider found on trunks near water across the southeastern US, able to walk on the water's surface and dive underwater to escape predators. Unlike most Dolomedes, it often rests head-down on tree bark far from the water's edge, relying on camouflage rather than ambush at the shoreline.

Life cycle

1.
egg sac
A silk-wrapped egg sac shelters a clutch of eggs until the young are ready to emerge.
2.
juvenile
A spiderling emerges from the egg sac already in miniature adult form and starts catching prey almost immediately.
3.
subadult
A near-adult arachnid molts through several instars, growing larger and developing mature markings.
4.
adult
Fully grown after its final molt.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Dolomedidae
Genus: Dolomedes
Species: Dolomedes albineus