The Wrong Spots

   So here is one for you!  Have you ever really looked at a fishing spider?  You know, up close and personal looking at it?  The sort of "in your face" closeness?  I have and they are beautiful!   

  This morning, I spent my time pulling hundreds of water hyacinths out of the Frog Pond.  Those thing are beautiful but so very invasive.  While they may clog up ponds and other waterways, they do have one good use.  They make grand fertilizer for the garden and that is the only reason I keep them in the ponds.  The things grow relentlessly so I have a steady source of free fertilizer!  It was while I was doing that chore that I found my lovely friend.

  About halfway through the task, I noticed that I had disturbed the spider.  She was not real happy that her home and hunting ground were growing smaller and smaller with each plant removed from the pond.  My sloshing soon chased her up the side of the pond and onto the old tarp that I was using to haul the plants to the compost.  There she sat.  Well, that ended that!  Not wanting to hurt my friend, I left off work and started spider watching. 

 

  This was a Six Spotted Fishing Spider. One might think that the name comes from the white spots on her abdomen but, if you check, you will find there are more than six spots.  Well, now!  That is confusing!  Maybe this was not a six spot but an eight spot or even a ten spot...depending on how many spots there are.  Nope.  She was, indeed, a six spot!  I was just looking at the wrong spots.  If you are brave enough to check under the bottom of the two and a half inch spider, you will find that she has six dark spots underneath.  Those white spots are not the cause of her name. 

  Nope.  I did not harass the spider to merely count her spots.  I shall take the experts word for it.  This lovely spider shall not be bothered any further.  I shall let her live in peace.