I am not a bug person , and I get grossed out easily, but I am trying to acclimate myself to the bug situation in the country (we moved here last week).
Stepping outside to go to breakfast today , this doozy was sitting on some eggs:
what is she??
Thanks, Zoe
in Pleasant Valley, NY June 27th, 2010 (outside of Poughkeepsie, NY)
The image is too blurry to be certain, but this could be a female fishing spider (family Pisauridae) in the genus Dolomedes with her egg sac - see http://tinyurl.com/233p9ke for an example. These spiders carry their egg sac about until the eggs are ready to hatch, at which time she constructs a 'nursery' by tying leaves/stems together with silk; she then guards them until they disperse to make their own way in the world. They are harmless to humans.
