The Pisauridae are big wolf spiders with good eyesight. They hunt freely in low vegetation or on and in the water. At rest, they take a distinctive posture: they keep the two front pairs of legs close together while stretched outwards.
The females make fairly large, round egg sacs, which they carry with them between their chelicerae. Seven species occur in Europe.
Genus Dolomedes
These spiders are found in the proximity of water. The spiders primarily feed on large insects such as dragonflies and also small fish that they sometimes go after underwater. It is repeatedly observed that frogs were caught.
To detect prey the spiders lie still with their front legs on the water surface.
Young spiders are often seen in large numbers in drier places than adult animals, for instance in bushes and trees.
Genus Pisaura
Pisaura hunts in low vegetation and on the ground. When mating, the male gives the female a “wedding gift” in the form of a carefully spun prey. If the female accepts the gift and will eat, the male starts mating. If the male won’t find a willing female within 24 hours, he eats the prey himself.
