I have never seen this before

[addy1]

I was out grooming the lilies. I have a lot of water spiders, from smallish to two inches or so. As long as they scurry away from me, we coexist peacefully in the pond while I work.

This little one jumped in the water off a lily pad, came back with this fry. It appeared to be wiggling when it hauled it up onto the pad.

I got out of the pond to snap the picture.

The entire time i was out there, the spider ate the fry, guarding it from the other spiders. Most of one side of the body was gone when I finished up.

 

[Mmathis]

Whoa! That's pretty cool -- but not for the fry......

 

[addy1]

From the web:

Dolomedes triton (Six-spotted Fishing Spider)
Typically aquatic insects and other water-borne prey that the spider can overpower. This includes small fish (e.g. minnows) and frogs, etc. This species will even dive below the surface of the water when escaping predators or trying to catch food.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Oh no! Not another thread about spiders

 

[cas]

Wow. Interesting.

 

[addy1]

I see them in the pond all of the time, that was the first time I have seen one hunt. Big suckers too! The hunter was a tiny one compared to its buddies.

 

[addy1]

Oh no! Not another thread about spiders

lol ponds and spiders go hand in hand

 

[mrsclem]

This is why I don't go into my ponds anymore! The nursery web spiders we have and walk on water and dive and they get big!

 

[addy1]

lol I watch for them and send a nice splash towards them they usually head for shore. If one heads towards me a bigger wave hits it.

 

[CountryEscape]

Wow, extremely cool! I had no idea spiders would catch and kill/eat baby fish! Heck, I don't see the babies when they are that small, maybe I need to observe the spiders more and where they hunt.
Tonight I was watching a spider weave a web over my pond. Amazing how it went back and forth, then up and down, then back and forth. I can't wait to see the finished product tomorrow morning, probably with lots of dew on it.
Thanks for sharing these great pics! And, I love that you got out of the pond to get your camera!

 

[addy1]

No choice! It was so darn neat. I have so many fry , this year, I can spare a few to the spiders.

baby parade

 

[Becky]

Goodness me, I had no idea that a spider that small could attack and eat a fry! You learn something new every day here

 

[Mmathis]

That reminds me of the "bug" that I watched a few weeks ago as it devoured a tadpole. It was cool and fascinating [and a little gross], but that's nature at work!

 

[addy1]

Goodness me, I had no idea that a spider that small could attack and eat a fry! You learn something new every day here

I only learned it by seeing the little spider snatch the fry!

 

[C-Note]

That's crazy! The photos are amazing @addy1 . But now even more reason for me to fear spiders.