Another study of Raft Spiders (Dolomedes fimbriatus) (& a post). The adult male Raft Spider is 9 -16mm & the female a larger 13-22mm. They are found in wet lowlands and heaths & upland mires. Widespread in Southern England on wet heaths & scattered colonies throughout the rest of Britain. We have found a stream in the New Forest where they seem abundant. Here they seem to favour wild mint growing on the edge of the small stream where they wait for a passing meal – dropping down to walk on the water’s surface to catch their prey.

Wild mint bed in the New Forest.