July 2nd, 2008
an unexpected breakfast guest
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve had a few fleeting glimpses of a large spider lurking in our living room, occasionally appearing among a stack of books and art supplies. I could never get a good enough look to be sure of what she might be. A few days ago, she finally made a somewhat bold appearance on the kitchen counter while I was making breakfast. I suspect that she wasn’t finding much to eat in the rest of the house and perhaps thought she might do better in the kitchen. I snapped a few photos of her and got out the measuring tape to get some idea of her size. Although she seems a little on the small side, I believe she’s a Dark Fishing Spider (Dolomedes tenebrosus). Perhaps she’s a juvenile, which might explain her smallish size. After the impromptu photo shoot, I captured her in a bottle and released her outdoors where the hunting prospects would, undoubtedly, be much better.
