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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Chelicerates (Chelicerata) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynae » Nursery Web Spiders (Pisauridae)

Family Pisauridae - Nursery Web Spiders

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Identification · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Nursery Web Spider - Pisaurina mira - female

Striped spider in Ontario - Pisaurina mira

Nursery Web Spider - Nursery Web Spider - Pisaurina mira

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)

Class Arachnida (Arachnids)

Order Araneae (Spiders)

Infraorder Araneomorphae (True Spiders)

No Taxon (Entelegynae)

Family Pisauridae (Nursery Web Spiders)

Other Common Names

Fishing spiders

Explanation of Names

Named after palearctic genus Pisaura. That genus is likely named after the Pisaurus River (now the Foglia), or Pesaro region of Italy (Wikipedia: Marche region, Pesaro).

Identification

Often large spiders, similar to Fishing Spiders (Dolomedidae) and Wolf Spiders (Lycosidae). Note the following:

typically rest with legs flattened on substrate (Dolomedidae/Pisauridae)

carry their egg sacs by means of their jaws and pedipalps (instead of attaching them to their spinnerets like in Wolf Spiders)

all eight eyes are approximately the same size, as opposed to Wolf Spiders (Lycosidae), where two eyes are more prominent

Arrangement of eyes in Dolomedes in Dolomedidae vs.Pisaurina in Pisauridae:

Life Cycle

Females carry the egg sacs using their chelicerae until the eggs are ready to hatch.

When the eggs are ready to hatch, the egg sac is placed within a "nursery web" built on some foliage, and the mother stands guard.

Remarks

Juveniles of this family are often found on large leaves of bushes and other shorter plants.

See Also

Fishing Spiders: Dolomedidae

Wolf Spiders: Lycosidae

Print References

Howell and Jenkins (1)

Internet References

Wikipedia: Nursery web spider

Works Cited

1.	Spiders of the Eastern US, A Photographic Guide W. Mike Howell and Ronald L. Jenkins. 2004. pearson education.

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 1:20pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, john and jane balaban, cheins, chuuuuung
Last updated 7 January, 2025 - 3:30pm

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