Further to my previous post which included Raft Spiders I revisited the New Forest stream where we found several of these interesting arachnids. We found 7 Raft Spiders today including a juvenile spider and a female with an egg sac.
Raft Spiders will carry their egg sac around for some time before creating a nursery web for their spiderlings. (Last time we found a nursery web.)
These large spiders will sit at the edge of the water, or on floating vegetation, with their front legs resting on the water’s surface in order to feel for the vibrations of potential prey, they chase out onto the water to catch their prey, ranging from tadpoles or small fish. They will also swim underwater.
Below. Adult female with egg sac.
Below. nursery web with tiny spiderlings.
Below. Juvenile Raft Spider is now independent of the nursery web.
Continued Reflections from my World. 
Nice, up-close photos, but I still remain terrified of them. This week I saw photos of a large in a package of broccoli purchased in a grocery store. I’d have fainted dead away.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🍌 Bananas here is where the press like to to give us horror headlines of spiders found in someone’s shopping!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We had some here years ago and the produce clerk at my grocery store said she unpacked bananas and found a dead one. When I buy bananas, I pick them up with a plastic bag and push them apart. If I found a snake or tarantula I’d have a heart attack. We’ve had incidents of Black Widow spiders in bunches of grapes.
LikeLike
Wow! Great spider shots! 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Tom.
LikeLike