wolf spider

(Family Lycosidae)

               
Overview

Wolf spider (Family Lycosidae) has a worldwide distribution, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. It is found in almost all habitats, including forests floors, prairies and meadows, marshes, and buildings. It has excellent vision and is a solitary hunter. It does not spin a web but some species construct a silken tube to hide in. Most live on the ground and hunt at night.

There are about 2,888 species of wolf spiders worldwide, about 240 species in North America north of Mexico, and at least 37 species in Minnesota.

wolf spider (Family Lycosidae)

  Photo by Luciearl
   
Identification

Wolf spider (Family Lycosidae) is a medium-sized to large spider. It is brown with light and dark stripes or spots that camouflages it in leaf litter. It is covered with short hairs. Like other spiders it has eight eyes in two rows. In the second row the lateral eyes are large, the middle eyes are very large.

 
Distribution Distribution Map  

Sources

24, 29, 30.
  4/5/2020            
 
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Taxonomy

Order:

Araneae (spiders)

 

Suborder:

Araneomorphae

 

No Rank:

Entelegynae (eight-eyed spiders)

 

No Rank:

RTA clade

 

Superfamily:

Lycosoidea

 

Family:

Lycosidae

 
Subordinate Taxa

brush-legged wolf spider (Schizocosa ocreata)

Canada pirate wolf spider (Piratula canadensis)

dark-tipped pirate wolf spider (Pirata aspirans)

drumming wolf spider (Gladicosa gulosa)

forest wolf spider (Pardosa xerampelina)

Great Lakes pirate wolf spider (Pirata montanoides)

Greenland wolf spider (Pardosa groenlandica)

ground wolf spider (Trochosa terricola)

lance wolf spider (Schizocosa avida)

little banded wolf spider (Pardosa modica)

Mackenzie’s thin-legged wolf spider (Pardosa mackenziana)

McCook’s split wolf spider (Schizocosa mccooki)

pale thin-legged wolf spider (Pardosa distincta)

pirate otter spider (Pirata piraticus)

redlined wolf spider (Arctosa rubicunda)

rustic wolf spider (Trochosa ruricola)

saxatile thin-legged wolf spider(Pardosa saxatilis)

shiny wolf spider (Pardosa moesta)

shore spider (Pardosa milvina)

shoreline wolf spider (Arctosa littoralis)

small pirate wolf spider (Piratula minuta)

snowbank wolf spider (Pardosa fuscula)

spiny-legged pirate wolf spider (Pirata sedentarius)

spinyrib wolf spider (Alopecosa aculeata)

stone spider (Pardosa lapidicina)

taiga wolf spider (Pardosa hyperborea)

wetland giant wolf spider (igrosa helluo)

wolf spider (Schizocosa crassipes)

 
Synonyms

 

 
Common
Names

wolf spider

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       
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Luciearl
       
  wolf spider (Family Lycosidae)    
       
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Other Videos
 
  Closer to the nature 6: Wolf spiders (Lycosidae)
WildInside
 
   
 
About

Dec 3, 2017

Wolf spiders are quite common world-wide. They are good runners and they hunt actively, so they are well prepared for that kind of hunting. The female of wolf spider is also a good mother, which creates egg sack and carries it with her all the time. The young spiders are safe inside of it, but when they leave the egg sack, they are still protected by their mother.

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  Wolf Spider (Lycosidae) Female with Young
Carl Barrentine
 
   
 
About

Jun 12, 2010

This was one of seven females, each one with either eggs or young, that I observed (within a one meter area!) on the wet plywood deck of a small artifical pond. Photographed at Turtle River State Park, North Dakota (11 June 2010).

   
       

 

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Luciearl
3/28/2020

Location: Cass County

wolf spider (Family Lycosidae)


 
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Created: 4/5/2020

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