This story was originally published in March 2024.
Arachnophobes may have thought snow- or ice-covered terrain in the state were safe spaces away from spiders. They are wrong.
Turns out there is a rather large spider native to Maine that hangs out next to water and is not above taking a stroll across the ice or snow in the winter when temperatures rise above freezing.
This is the fishing spider, also known as eight-legged anglers. It’s possible, albeit startling, to spot these large, native spiders on a frozen Maine lake or pond midwinter, according to experts.
“You know how we have ticks all year round now,” said Jim Dill, pest management expert with University of Maine Cooperative Extension. “Well, they are arachnids just like spiders so there is no reason that once the weather gets a little warmish — like above freezing — that, like the ticks, [and fishing spiders] get active and move around.”
Like all spiders, the fishing spider goes into a sort of hibernation during the winter known as diapause. This is a form of dormancy during which the spider’s system responds to extreme environmental changes, such as the cold temperatures of a Maine winter.
They do this because they can build up a natural antifreeze in their bodies, Dill said.
When the waterfront-dwelling spiders sense a break in the cold, they come out from wherever they have hunkered down, probably looking for a meal.
That is a bit unfortunate because there is not really anything for them to hunt or eat this time of year, Dill said.
That’s because even though the spider gets its name from an ability to catch small fish, tadpoles, other bugs and even baby mice, it is not an ice-fishing spider.
Fishing spiders don’t build webs to catch prey. Instead, they actively hunt along water edges.
“They are a roaming, free hunter spider,” Dill said. “Whatever they come across, they will sink their fangs into it, kill it and eat it.”
It sounds scary, and Dill said the sight of one of these fishing spiders running toward you on the ice can be quite startling. They can grow to the size of a silver dollar and, with their legs factored in, can measure up to six inches around.
They carry a venom that can cause an allergic reaction in some people. But that’s not the biggest risk associated with a fishing spider bite.
Because they eat freshly killed protein, their fangs are dirty and can have a lot of bacteria living on them. An infection from that bacteria is far more dangerous than the actual venom, Dill said.
The good news is, unlike the giant ice spiders from the 2007 grade B horror movie of the same name, the ones here in Maine are not looking to attack people.
“They will give you nightmares,” he said. “But they won’t come after you.”
