Water Spider

Description:

There are some spiders that live in the water. They don’t have gills but they do have a really neat way of breathing. The spider will spin the web on the water surface and collect air bubbles to fill it from underneath. The spider can then pop up under its web and breathe when it needs to. These spiders also mate and lay their eggs in the ‘air bubble web’. The Argyroneta aquatica is found in northern and central Europe and northern Asia up to latitude 62°N. It is the only spider known to spend its whole life under water. However it breathes air, which it traps in a bubble held by hairs on its abdomen and legs.

Habitat:

These spiders can be found around, and often in, lakes, ponds and streams, floating together with sticks and leaves. I saw this specie during our visit to Pangil river in Pangil, Laguna, Philippines- a river flowing from the Sierra Madre.

Notes:

The prey of these spiders includes various aquatic insects and crustaceans. Their fangs are robust enough to pierce human skin and the bite is said to be quite painful, causing localised inflammation and feverish symptoms. The spiders themselves fall prey to frogs and fish.