New friend!

Our tarantula has been popular with all the kids at SET, but she's not enjoying herself. Every since we brought her back, she's spent all her time curled up in the far corner of her cage. She's had a long life as a school pet and it's time for her to retire.

In Rosie's place? This beauty.



Our neighbors found her and brought her over. Despite what everyone thought, she's not a South American spider that snuck into the country on some bananas. She appears to be a Dolomedes tenebrosus, a fishing spider native to the northeast. As the name suggests, these spiders mostly hunt water bugs and even small fish, although they're capable of hunting on land as well.

For right now, we'll be keeping her in a plain, water-free cage and providing her with crickets and mistings. If she seems to like the school life, we'll give her a fancier home and if not, she'll return to the forest.