Wolf Spider Facts

• Name: Wolf spiders are members of the Lycosidae family of spiders and take their name from the ancient Greek word for “wolf.”
• Appearance: Brown or dark in coloration with bristled legs and gray or black patterning; they can resemble tarantulas, brown recluse and fishing spiders
• Eyes: Their eight eyes are positioned in three rows with two large eyes in the middle row, giving these agile and active hunters excellent eyesight. Their eyes are reflective, which can be helpful in detecting them with a flashlight.

Wolf Spider Behavior

With 125 species of wolf spiders, these lone hunters, rarely found in groups, thrive all over the country. As one of the country’s most abundant spiders.

The wolf spider’s most distinctive feature revolves around the fact that female wolf spiders carry their egg sacs and young spiderlings with them. Attached by spinnerets at the end of the female’s abdomen, the female wolf spider carries her egg sac with her while she hunts. At the appropriate time, the female spider opens the egg sac with her powerful jaws and her spiderlings scurry onto the top of her abdomen, where she protects them until their first molt.