Lycosidae
(Wolf Spiders)

Picture ID 58812

Picture of Lycosidae (Wolf Spiders) - Female - Dorsal,Spiderlings

Comments & ID Thoughts

Female wolf spider, family Lycosida carrying her hatchlings. A very dedicated mother whom isn’t aggressive but will bit if she feels threatened, she is rather large so I can only imagine that it would hurt though not venomous. Fun fact, if one of her babies falls, she will wait for it, till it climbs back on top. She will also carry her egg sack with her before hatching. She’s a hunter, so spins no web. She has eight eyes that provide her with night vision and in helping to make her eyesight excellent. This family is extremely important in helping the earth control our bug population. All together (all Arachnids) consume over 880 million TONS of bugs a year! *The Lycosida (wolf) and Araneidae (Orb weavers) are the biggest contributors. (* I’m not a professional and this statement isn’t from any one reference but gathered from my own research and data)
So, before you feel the need to crush these amazing little guys.. stop and remember, they are on our side! Most spiders, if ANY.. DON’T pray on humans, if anything they are way more frightened than you, they will protect themselves and bite.. sure! Maybe some will act out with aggression but only when provoked! They have huge brains and theoretically very intelligent, so who knows what they think or feel. Even if they couldn’t think at all, without them, we would have more bugs, passing more viruses and sicknesses, food would be consumed before we could eat it, basically without them, there would not be an “us”! Anyways.. food for though the next time you feel the need to kill a spider. If you fallow the golden rule of leaving it be, by not picking it up so it can bite you, wear gloves if you are in the garden because you could possibly turn over their habitat, which in turn can lead to a bite. If it is in the house and you have kids or pets but not sure the species, take a jar and paper and scoop it outside. You can do this with venomous spiders too, pretty successfully however I warn you to be cautious and wear leather gloves. If you are too anxious then maybe leave the jar over it and have someone else scoop it outdoors. Again I’m not a professional, I just really love spider! Not sure what they did to have me fall so hard, maybe because they are so misunderstood and the myths and fears that create monsters out of these little guys, need to be replaced with truth and admiration. Thanks!

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ItsyBitsy

Possibly Trochosa ruricola. Hard to be sure with the babies on board.

Additional Pictures

Picture of Lycosidae (Wolf Spiders) - Female - Spiderlings Enlarge Picture
Picture of Lycosidae (Wolf Spiders) - Dorsal Enlarge Picture
Picture of Lycosidae (Wolf Spiders) - Dorsal Enlarge Picture
Picture of Lycosidae (Wolf Spiders) - Female - Dorsal,Egg sacs Enlarge Picture