Staying on the subject of the Fen Raft Spider (Dolomedes plantarius), I was able to observe some courtship behaviour on 19th September 2015.
Whilst watching a basking female, I noticed a male in the shadows cautiously approaching her.
The male gently strokes her legs as he slowly moves closer and the female starts to perform a bobbing motion (below)
The female is not responsive and after about 10 minutes she moves quickly away (below)
The male comes out into the open to look for the female for a short time before wandering back into the shadows (below)
The female has returned to her nursery web duties, thus probably explaining her disinterest in the male (below)
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