Spiders Above Treeline

Anyone that has ever hiked above Treeline in the Presidentials during the summer months will know what I'm talking about: Little, black spiders... they're all over the place and really fast. I don't think they spin webs. I saw literally hundreds of millions of them over the weekend (Jefferson, Adams, Madison via. Great Gulf, Six Husbands, Gulfside, Osgood Ridge -- this will serve as the trip report: great weather, Six Husbands was fun and easy, Osgood Ridge Trail goes on forever. Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/374482318EiZoBp) but I just wasn't in the mood to try and photograph one of those buggers. They run away so fast I'm not sure that I'm quick enough.

Can anyone identify what kind of spider this is and does it only live above treeline? I've never seen this type of spider before below the tree canopy although maybe it's a coincidence. Does anybody have a close-up picture? I'm interested because I see so many of these things on the Rock Pile but I never see enough bugs that I believe to sustain the spider population. I know they are not vegetarians and they don't eat hikers so what is their food supply? I oftentimes wonder just what lives below all the rocks up there. Any info?

-Dr. Wu

OK - so I take a lot of photographs....

Here is a spider from my Adams trip last year.

They were everywhere! I kept seeing things moving out of the corner of my eye but there was nothing there when I looked. I think they were out sunning themselves on the rock but hid when I got close. I stopped for a few seconds and they all popped out again. Freaky!

My question then, and now, is what do they do in winter? They have anti-freeze for blood?

Bob

Arachnids have thousands of babies.. all it requires is just a few to survive!

As far as the identification goes. I have no clue. I may ID tarantulas but as far as true spiders and arachnids, my knowledge is small.

Arachnids don't hibernate and it is true that the cold will kill most, but since they are small and can fit in the tiniest of places, sheer luck and some work can mean they will survive.

Jay

I asked the hut "Nature Expert" when I stayed at Lake of the Crowds last summer, I think she said they were Wolf Spiders.

I'll second the Wolf Spider ID, but I have no further information on them.
-vegematic

On Bondcliff this past weekend I noticed some very tiny spiders on my pack but they seemed to be able to jump. I'm not fond of jumping spider! On the other hand I've encountered a few wolf spiders up by the camp on the dock....they are HUGE (almost the size of my fist!) and move wicked fast.

I don't know about spiders, but I can say that the big cairn on top of Eisenhower is sometimes infested with fleas!

I'm not fond of spiders, but I'm especially not fond of spiders that move "wicked fast." They are among my most disliked of creatures.

MEB said:

On Bondcliff this past weekend I noticed some very tiny spiders on my pack but they seemed to be able to jump. I'm not fond of jumping spider! On the other hand I've encountered a few wolf spiders up by the camp on the dock....they are HUGE (almost the size of my fist!) and move wicked fast.

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Uggghh, I hope you have a small fist. If I saw a spider the size of my fist I would be in a dead sprint in the other direction.

Everything you didn't need to know about Wolf Spiders

The Wof Spiders in the Whites appear to be Arctosa Alpigena.

Dr_wu002:
Sounds like a species of jumping spider. Jumping spiders have good eysight and catch their prey by jumping on it. They don't need webs.

I don't know for certain, but it is conceivable that they survive the winter in a cold-tolerant non-adult form.

Doug

Most jumping spiders are very very small. P. Audax is one of my favorites. I can't gauge the size of HikerBob's photo but I would think that is kind of larger than most jumping spiders I know of.

If Eisenhower's summit cairn is infested with fleas, maybe that old rusted sign I got a picture of says "Beware of fleas" cause it's indistinguishable now. I couldn't figure out what it said in it's heyday.



Tell me that isn't the cutest little thing you have ever seen???????

Jay

Jay - I estimated it to be about an inch from leg tip to leg tip front to back. That would make the body maybe ~3/8" long.

Bob

I am going to shudder every time I stick my hand into a crack in Huntington this weekend.

NH_Mtn_Hiker said:

I asked the hut "Nature Expert" when I stayed at Lake of the Crowds last summer, I think she said they were Wolf Spiders.

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Lake(s) of the Crowds is right!

The hut sleeps 99 people or something like that, and it was FULL the night I stayed there (about 8/12/4 or so). They were having a ceremony at the top the next morning to honor the original surviving members of the 10th Mountain Division. Some of the old guys hiked up to the summit! More power to them!

Anyway, I thought the "Nature Expert" was pretty cool. She let me be the "Guest Nature Expert" that night, and I did an astronomy presentation.

dr_wu002 said:

I'm interested because I see so many of these things on the Rock Pile but I never see enough bugs that I believe to sustain the spider population. I know they are not vegetarians and they don't eat hikers so what is their food supply? I oftentimes wonder just what lives below all the rocks up there. Any info?
-Dr. Wu

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HikerBob's spider picture matches the picture of the wolf spider in Slack and Bell's Field Guide to the New England Alpine Summits. They say that "wolf spiders, common throughout the summer, are busy hunting their prey. Their dark color helps them absorb precious solar heat." So, what's their prey? In Alpine Zones of the Presidential Range, L. C. Bliss notes that Annie Slosson observed insects for several years and reported over 2000 species although many of these get blown up there from lower altitudes and are not natives. Alexander found 95 native species of insects and spiders common to the alpine zone. 61 were beetles, mostly ground beetles. He also found 10 species of spiders. There are butterflies (which pollinate a number of alpine plants), moths, locusts, bees, grasshoppers and flies as well. There's the White Mountain butterfly, the White Mountain fritillary (orange and black butterfly), and the wingless White Mountain locust peculiar to this area.

Once again the AMC's Field Guide to New England Alpine Summits shows it's value. There on page 90 is the spitting imare of the culprit. They identify it as a Black Wolf Spider, family Lycosidae.

This book is great. It has just a few from each group (plants, rocks, insects, birds, moss, etc.) but it always seems to have what you are looking for. I sure hope it goes back into print.

Jay H said:

If Eisenhower's summit cairn is infested with fleas, maybe that old rusted sign I got a picture of says "Beware of fleas" cause it's indistinguishable now.

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Last time I passed that cairn (2yrs ago), I was warned by other hikers that it contained a wasp nest. (Or some similar stinging insect.) I chose not to investigate...

Doug

Papa Bear said:

Once again the AMC's Field Guide to New England Alpine Summits shows it's value. There on page 90 is the spitting imare of the culprit. They identify it as a Black Wolf Spider, family Lycosidae.

This book is great. It has just a few from each group (plants, rocks, insects, birds, moss, etc.) but it always seems to have what you are looking for. I sure hope it goes back into print.

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<begin soapbox>
Contact AMC and ask for it to be reprinted. I wrote them a letter, never heard back from them. What am I going to do when my copy wears out? (what are the huts going to do??????)
<end soapbox>

I second (third? fourth?) the wolf spider based on the description (fast & easily spooked).