spider fly

noun

, Angling.

1. an artificial fly having a hackle body, little or no tail, no wings, and unusually long legs, dressed to resemble a spider.

Word History and Origins

Origin of spider fly¹

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

It is a four-winged fly, and when it flutters on the water it is very much like the engraving in the plate; but when it sails down the surface, the wings lie flat on its back, and as soon as it touches the water it drops its eggs; the trout take it freely for about a week in this month, with the gravel or spider fly,—dun body, black hackle, and woodcock wings; some use lead-coloured body.

From Project Gutenberg

The other insects that he studied include the spider, fly, mason-bee, bramble-bee, hunting wasp, ant, grasshopper, caterpillar, mason-wasp, weevil, glowworm, sacred beetle and other beetles.

From Time Magazine Archive

April.—The same as March with the addition of the Grannam or Green Tail, and the Spider Fly.

From Project Gutenberg

None but the initiated can tell the affliction that chiseled finishing entails on housekeepers in the spider, fly, and other insect lodgment which it invites—frequently the cause of more annoyance and daily disquietude in housekeeping, because unnecessary, than real griefs from which we may not expect to escape.

From Project Gutenberg