Laundry helper

I captured this spider on a sponge by the washing machine in the

basement. I have tentatively identified it as a "nursery web spider,"

Pisaurina mira (I don't care to speculate about why this spider might

be associated with nurseries), but I would welcome a more

authoritative identification. Of course, I also welcome your critique.

Is this a before or after shot?! He looks "clean" but doesn't appear to have gone through the ringer! :o)

I'm no expert on spiders, but I would hate to encounter him in my home! Cheers, Iren

BBBBRRRRRRR.........

It makes me shudder. But a beautiful picture so sharp

and close. Those 8 black things, are those his eyes ??

bbrr... still thanks for sharing.

Thank you for your comments Iren and Dimf. Iren, you are correct: This spider was washed but not dried. Actually, I found it in the sink next to the washer, apparently unable to climb up the smooth sides to escape. It must have been there a long time, because it seemed to be weak, presumably from hunger, and I believe most spiders can go a loooong time without eating. Then again, perhaps it considered posing for a photo session to be repayment for rescuing it from the sink. In any case, it was a very cooperative model, and I released it outside afterwards to hunt moles and small squirrels. [i'm sure there's a funny punctuation thing I should put here to indicate that I'm kidding, this spider wasn't actually large enough to hunt small mammals, but I don't know what it is.]

Dimf: Yes, those are eyes, and I learned in trying to identify this spider that the positions of the eyes are an important clue. It used to be that you had to kill spiders and insects to see this sort of detail and get an accurate identification, but with advances in macro photography, I think it's easier now to make an identification without damage to your karma.