Wolf spiders, members of the family Lycosidae, are a diverse group of arachnids known for their hunting prowess and maternal care. With nearly 2,400 species found worldwide, these spiders have adapted to various habitats and play a crucial role in controlling insect populations. This article delves into the diet and hunting habits of wolf spiders, exploring their unique characteristics, behaviors, and ecological significance.
What are Wolf Spiders?
Wolf spiders are hairy arachnids that stalk prey. Often mistaken for tarantulas due to their large size and hairy appearance, wolf spiders are fast-moving ground hunters. They are typically brown, gray, black, or tan, with dark markings, most commonly stripes, which act as camouflage, helping them hide well to catch their prey and evade predators, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. Their coloring helps them blend in with their surroundings, making them effective predators.
Size and Appearance
Wolf spiders vary in size, with body lengths ranging from about a quarter of an inch (0.6 centimeter) to over an inch (3 cm) long, not including their legs. The Desertas wolf spider (Hogna ingens) from Deserta Grande Island in the Atlantic Ocean is one of the largest wolf spider species, with a leg span of 4.7 inches (12 cm), according to the Bristol Zoological Society in England. Female wolf spiders are typically larger than males.
Eye Arrangement
Wolf spiders have a distinctive eye arrangement, with eight eyes arranged in three rows. The bottom row consists of four small eyes, the middle row has two very large eyes, and the top row has two medium-sized eyes. This unique eye arrangement provides them with excellent vision, which they use to spot prey and navigate their environments. The tapetum lucidum is a retroreflective tissue found in the four secondary eyes of the wolf spider, which produces eyeshine when a beam of light is flashed over the spider. This eyeshine can be seen when the lighting source is roughly coaxial with the viewer or sensor.
Habitat and Distribution
Wolf spiders are adaptable to various habitats and can be found virtually anywhere there are insects for them to eat. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. Nocturnal ground hunters, they can be found in open grasslands and fields, suburban backyards, wooded areas, wet coastal forests, and in vegetation along streams, lakes, and marshes. Wolf spiders will sometimes burrow in the ground. They like to live near stream edges, gravel, and low-lying plants. Wolf spiders sometimes find their way into houses, usually in basements, crawl spaces, and garages. They tend to end up indoors after seeking warmer places to hibernate in the winter.
Read also: Couple's Massage: A Guide
Hunting Habits
Rather than catching their prey in webs, wolf spiders chase it down, similar to the way a wolf does. However, these spiders hunt alone, not in packs. Wolf spiders are active hunters that can be great at pest control, making them important in both natural and agricultural ecosystems.
Hunting Strategies
Wolf spiders have two hunting strategies. They can be idle predators that wait for prey to pass by, or they can actively hunt their prey. They react mainly to vibrations caused by wings beating or by prey walking on the ground. Wolf spiders are mainly active at night, feeding during early evening hours, but they also are found active during the day along streams and lakes.
Some species chase down and seize their prey, while others wait for prey to walk by and then ambush it. Wolf spiders often jump on their prey, hold it between their legs, and roll over on their backs, trapping their prey with their limbs before biting it and injecting their venom. Fast runners with keen eyesight, wolf spiders locate their victims and pounce on them, biting with their powerful jaws.
Diet
Wolf spiders are carnivores, feeding primarily on ground-dwelling insects such as crickets, beetles, grasshoppers, earwigs, ants, and flies. Large females may take on small amphibians and reptiles, such as frogs and lizards, according to BioKids. Because they eat insects like ants, bed bugs, and cockroaches, they are considered a natural form of pest control around people's homes and gardens. Wolf spiders are a vital source of natural pest control for many people's gardens or even homes, since the wolf spider preys on perceived pests such as crickets, ants, cockroaches, and in some cases lizards and frogs. In recent years, wolf spiders have been utilized as pest control in agriculture to reduce the amount of pesticides needed on crops.
Reproduction and Maternal Care
Wolf spiders are unique in the way that they carry their eggs. The egg sac, a round, silken globe, is attached to the spinnerets at the end of the abdomen, allowing the spider to carry her unhatched young with her. The abdomen must be held in a raised position to keep the egg case from dragging on the ground. Despite this handicap, they are still capable of hunting.
Read also: Health and wellness insights from Michelle Wolf
After mating, female wolf spiders lay several dozen or more eggs and wrap them in silk, creating an egg sac that they carry around with them. Mothers are known to be aggressive when carrying their egg sacs. Sometimes, they need to drop their egg sacs to escape predators. If that happens, females search furiously to find the egg sacs and may even pick up another wolf spider's abandoned egg sac to care for.
Another aspect unique to wolf spiders is their method of caring for their young. Immediately after the spiderlings emerge from their protective silken case, they clamber up their mother's legs and crowd onto the dorsal side of her abdomen. After hatching, the spiderlings climb on their mother's back, and she carries them around for several days. After this, the spiderlings leave their mothers and go off alone. Male wolf spiders typically live for one year or less, while females can live for several years.
Wolf Spider Bites and Venom
Wolf spiders are venomous, but their bites rarely cause people to become seriously ill. Although non-aggressive, a wolf spider will bite when threatened. Their bite is venomous but, fortunately, not lethal. A wolf spider’s bite symptoms commonly include swelling, mild pain and itching. Occasionally, a fever and swelling of lymph glands will develop.
Wolf spiders will bite you if they feel trapped, but their venom isn't deadly. Wolf spider bites can be painful. Wolf spiders tend to bite humans only when the spiders are mishandled or trapped next to the skin, according to Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
Distinguishing Wolf Spiders from Brown Recluse Spiders
Brown wolf spiders can sometimes be confused for brown recluse spiders, which are extremely venomous and - in extreme cases - can result in seizures, kidney failure and death. If they're moving fast and out in the open, they're more likely to be wolf spiders. Brown recluses rarely venture out into open spaces.
Read also: Ingredients and Nutrition: Timber Wolf Keto Bread
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln provides a graphic that shows the differences between the two types of spider, as well as other spiders that can be confused with brown recluse spiders.
Taxonomy of Wolf Spiders
Here is the taxonomy, or classification, for the tardigrade, according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS):
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Arachnida
- Order: Araneae
- Family: Lycosidae
Below is a cladogram proposed by Liu et al.
Pardosa sp. Lycosa sp. Anoteropsis L. Antembolus Sherwood, Henrard, Logunov & Fowler, 2023 - St. Arctosa C. L. Aulonia C. L. Dolocosa Roewer, 1960 - St. Lynxosa Roewer, 1960 - St. Molearachne Sherwood, Henrard, Logunov & Fowler, 2023 - St. Pardosa C. L. Trochosa C. L.
Control and Prevention
Due to their large size and ominous appearance, wolf spiders are feared by many. But don’t despair; wolf spiders can effectively be controlled with a direct contact killer. Outdoors, choose TERRO® Spider Killer Spray with long-lasting residual control to create a barrier around the perimeter of your house. Indoors, apply it as a general surface, spot or crack and crevice treatment to all non-food areas where spiders crawl and hide. Spider glue traps, like our new TERRO® Refillable Spider & Insect Trap, are an easy and effective way to catch wolf spiders and anything else that happens to wander across them.
You can get rid of wolf spiders that have moved indoors by vacuuming them up, setting up wolf spider traps with mouse or spider glue boards, or removing any clutter (especially cardboard boxes) where they may have made a nest. You can help prevent wolf spiders from entering a building by clearing vegetation around the perimeter of the building and removing yard debris such as wood, rock, and lumber piles. Additionally, having natural repellents around such as cedar, peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender, and lemongrass can help keep wolf spiders away.
Exclusion is the best strategy for keeping wolf spiders outside. Keep doors and windows screened and closed, and seal entry points around framing with weather stripping. This will prevent spiders and their prey from entering.