I have posted before about spiders walking on water, but I never realised these big raft spiders (Dolomedes fimbriatus) could also do that. You might think I could have deduced it from the name, but the Dutch name (gerande oeverspin) is different and doesn't refer to this.
It's a big spider, at least for The Netherlands, with a body measuring up to 22 millimetres (0.87") and a leg span of about 70 mm (2.8"). I saw this one yesterday as I was sitting near a peat-bog pool looking at all the critter activity going on:
Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/125s
It also has way too many eyes, must be an alien. Several of my friends, having seen this photo, vowed never to swim in open water again.
Another, fairly recent, addition to the Big Spiders in the peat bog is this wasp spider (Argiope bruennichi):
Olympus XZ-1, 28mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/125s
To reduce the number of tourists even further: did I mention we also have vipers and hornets and many mosquitos and ticks in this peat-bog area called Aamsveen?