Giant Wharf Spider

One of my most popular blog posts are the post about the giant wharf spiders here on Washington Pond. I grew up here. I learned to live in fear of the Wharfers. They are big, ugly, full of attitude, and will chase a small child off any waterside deck, dock, or wharf. Here is another, and to show you how big this evil beast is, I dared put my hand into the photo. The Wharf Spider is about the size of my palm, not including my fingers. That's a big spider. To also know they can walk on water, make web sails to skip across the water back to the shore only adds to their mystique. I remember splashing them off the dock, and they would simply walk across the water returning to the underside of the deck. I always imagine the underside of any dock filled with an entire society of Wharf Spiders.

The same Maple tree now is covered with lots of little baby Wharfers. Today when I kayaked in, I noticed them all scampering about on the tree bark. I didn't want to use the tree to get out of my boat in fear of squishing the little darlings. The only thing worse than a bug is it's guts. I just stepped into the lake and got wet instead.