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Index of Subjects --Apple-Mail-77--689212882 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Hi Jean, Lots of small (and sometimes not so small) insects and arthropods make use of surface tension to move across water. This is how water striders (Hemiptera: Gerride) make their living. I've seen rove beetles of the genus Stenus do the same (they often live on vegetation at the edge of wet areas), although I'm not sure if they do so regularly. As for the large spiders that live near water and catch insects, tadpoles, and small fish, they are called Fishing Spiders and are in the genus Dolomedes. Take a look at a great photo of one walking on water at: http://www.univie.ac.at/IECB/cell/foto/moore/images/ Dolomedes_fimbriatus.jpg Dolomedes triton is a common species in this part of the continent. http://magickcanoe.com/spiders/dolomedes-triton-large.jpg Cheers! Chris On 25-Aug-07, at 4:18 PM, Jean Timpa wrote: > The surface tension idea is probably a pretty good theory. > Here is another one. Several of our spiders which are unusually > large and frankly > scary are aquatic spiders which live under docks, floating swim > platforms and at the edge of > our lakes in SW Nova Scotia where I have seen them. They not only > prey on other aquatic > insects, but supposedly on small fish nd tadpoles. Myth? I cannot > find them in the Golden > Guide to Spiders except for some which live in Europe and Asia. I > do remember Jim > Wolford several years ago giving us a good lesson on our aquatic > spiders. Does anyone out > there in cyberspace want to see if they can find it in our new > storage site? Thanks, Doug for > constructing such a tome! What a lot of work and help to us. Jim is > away, or about to go > away, so is probably not able to respond to this issue now. > The spider in question does not seem particularly large, but it > may have been a > young one dispersing, trying to find its own home before a larger > fish or aquatic dwelling bird > found it. JET _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._. _. Christopher Majka - Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History 1747 Summer Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 3A6 (902) 424-6435 Email <c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca> _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._. _. --Apple-Mail-77--689212882 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 <HTML><BODY style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; = -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi Jean,<DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span">Lots of small (and sometimes not so small) = insects and arthropods make use of surface tension to move across water. = This is how water striders (Hemiptera: Gerride) make their living. I've = seen rove beetles of the genus <I>Stenus</I> do the same (they often = live on vegetation at the edge of wet areas), although I'm not sure if = they do so regularly.</SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span">As for the large spiders that live near water = and catch insects, tadpoles, and small fish, they are called Fishing = Spiders and are in the genus <I>Dolomedes</I>. Take a look at a great = photo of one walking on water at:</SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><A = href=3D"http://www.univie.ac.at/IECB/cell/foto/moore/images/Dolomedes_fimb= riatus.jpg">http://www.univie.ac.at/IECB/cell/foto/moore/images/Dolomedes_= fimbriatus.jpg</A></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span"><I>Dolomedes triton</I> is a common species = in this part of the continent.</SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><A = href=3D"http://magickcanoe.com/spiders/dolomedes-triton-large.jpg">http://= magickcanoe.com/spiders/dolomedes-triton-large.jpg</A></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Cheers!</DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Chris</DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><DIV><DIV>On 25-Aug-07, at = 4:18 PM, Jean Timpa wrote:</DIV><BR = class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type=3D"cite"><DIV = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><SPAN class=3D"Apple-tab-span" = style=3D"white-space:pre"> </SPAN>The surface tension idea is = probably a pretty good theory.<SPAN = class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0</SPAN></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: = 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space:pre"> </SPAN>Here is = another one. Several of our spiders which are unusually large and = frankly<SPAN class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0</SPAN></DIV><DIV = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; ">scary are aquatic spiders which live under docks, = floating swim platforms and at the edge of<SPAN = class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0</SPAN></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: = 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">our = lakes in SW Nova Scotia where I have seen them. They not only prey on = other aquatic<SPAN class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0</SPAN></DIV><DIV = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; ">insects, but supposedly on small fish nd tadpoles. = Myth?<SPAN class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0 </SPAN>I cannot find them = in the Golden<SPAN class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0</SPAN></DIV><DIV = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; ">Guide to Spiders except for some which live in = Europe and Asia. I do remember Jim<SPAN = class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0</SPAN></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: = 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Wolford = several years ago giving us a good lesson on our aquatic spiders. Does = anyone out<SPAN class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0</SPAN></DIV><DIV = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; ">there in cyberspace want to see if they can find it = in our new storage site? Thanks, Doug for<SPAN = class=3D"Apple-converted-space"&