1. Classification & Appearance

Feature Description

Family Lycosidae (from the Greek word λύκος (lýkos), meaning 'wolf').

Size Medium to large, ranging from 10 mm up to 35 mm (body length, excluding legs). Females are generally larger than males.

Colour Typically dark brown, black, grey, or tan, with cryptic, mottled, or stripe-like patterns that provide excellent camouflage in leaf litter or soil.

Body Shape Robust, muscular, and hairy, with stout, long legs built for running and pouncing.

Eyes Their most distinguishing feature: Eight eyes arranged in three rows (4, 2, 2). The middle row has two very large, forward-facing eyes that give them exceptional vision, especially for a hunter.

Eyeshine Due to a reflective layer (tapetum lucidum) behind their eyes, their eyes glow brightly when a light source (like a flashlight) is shined on them at night.

2. Hunting and Habitat

• Hunting Method: Unlike web-building spiders, Wolf Spiders are active hunters and vagrants. They do not use silk to catch prey; they rely on their speed, camouflage, and eyesight to stalk, chase, or ambush insects and other small invertebrates on the ground.

• Webs: They do not spin webs for prey capture. They only use silk for the egg sac and to line their retreats or burrows.

• Habitat in Alberta: They are common in open areas like prairies, grasslands, forests, under rocks and logs, and in leaf litter. They are frequently found in urban gardens and are one of the most common spiders to wander into basements or garages, especially when seeking shelter as the weather cools.

• Retreats: Many species are wandering hunters, but some build silk-lined tubular burrows in the ground, occasionally featuring a silk or pebble "turret" around the entrance.

3. Reproduction and Maternal Care (Unique Traits)

Wolf spiders are famous for their unique, intensive maternal care:

1. Egg Sac: The female weaves a distinctive, dense, spherical, silken egg sac (often whitish or greyish).

2. Carriage: She attaches the egg sac securely to her spinnerets (silk-producing organs) and drags it everywhere she goes, even while hunting. If separated, she will search frantically for it. She often turns the sac toward the sun to aid incubation.

3. Hatching: When the spiderlings are ready to hatch, the mother uses her strong jaws (chelicerae) to tear open the tough silk sac and help her babies emerge.

4. Spiderling Ride: Immediately after hatching, the dozens to hundreds of tiny spiderlings climb onto their mother's back and ride there for a week or two, clinging tightly as she continues to move and hunt. This behavior is distinctive to the Lycosidae family.

4. Toxicity and Interaction with Humans

• Venom: Wolf spiders are venomous, like nearly all spiders. However, their venom is primarily effective against small invertebrate prey.

• Danger to Humans: They are not considered medically significant. A bite is a defensive reaction, usually occurring only if they are severely threatened, trapped, or accidentally handled. Symptoms are typically mild, involving only local pain, minor swelling, and possible itching, similar to a bee sting.

• Life Cycle: Most species live for about one to two years.