The wolf spider is one of the most common subspecies of spiders on earth. It is distributed throughout the world, and the number of varieties exceeds several thousand. Let's find out what this spider looks like, is it dangerous, and is it suitable for home keeping.
Where does it live?
This type of arachnid is common on all continents, except for areas where there is constant frost. And the warmer the country, the more chances to meet this insect. Another favorable factor for the settlement of spiders is humidity. Therefore, they prefer to nest on rocks near lakes or on wet sheets. But they are also found in the following places:
- Shrubs.
- Flowerbeds.
- Sheds.
- Warehouses.
- Heaps of stones.
- Overgrown grass.
- Reeds.
- Small holes and depressions.
Size and body structure
The insect is an expert in marking and is not visible in dense vegetation. They make holes and hunt only when there are no dangerous predators nearby.
The structure of the body does not differ from other spiders - on the cephalothorax there are eyes, airways and a mouth with jaws. Located in the abdomen internal organs. The paws are long and jointed. Color - brown-gray, similar to a hermit spider. But there is one difference - the hermit has a spot on his back that looks like a violin, which the wolf does not have.
The body is covered with black hairs, which are similar to wool. The number of eyes is eight. Two of them are big. The wolf has sharp eyesight, better than other insects. This helps to catch prey, the wolf does not weave a web. He runs after prey and catches it. In hunting, the claws located on the claws of the paws (3 claws on each) help him. Thanks to this, the spider moves quickly. Males are 4 times smaller than females.
The sizes of the largest individuals reach 10 cm. But most often there are small individuals (3 centimeters in length).
In the photo above, the wolf spider, it fully corresponds to the description.
Varieties of the wolf spider
There are over 2,000 types poisonous families wolf spiders. They are divided into 116 genera. Species may have some differences in terms of hunting - running or weaving a web, nocturnal or daytime activity. To a greater extent, all species live in the zone tropical climate. But more and more representatives of this species appear on the territory of Russia.
Apulian tarantulas
Occurs most often. The insect is large, the size is more than 7 centimeters in length. It lives near the slopes of mountains and hills. Hides in fallen leaves, uses them to cover minks. The bite of a tarantula is painful, and was previously considered poisonous. But scientists managed to invent an antidote.
Another common subspecies. It is smaller in size than the Apulian (does not exceed 3 centimeters), but is considered the largest representative in the CIS. They live in the tropics, but migrated here as well.
They reproduce by mating. Males send signals that attract females. After mating, the female begins to weave a cocoon, where she lays her eggs. She does this in several layers to give the shape of a ball. At first, the female carries the cocoon with her, firmly attaching it to the spinning organ. Mating occurs in summer, in temperate climates, and all year round- with tropical.
After a few days, the spiderlings hatch. The female feels it herself and breaks the cocoon with fangs. According to the external description, the spider family looks the same as the female. The wolf is a spider that carries children on its back until they can get their own food. A large individual is capable of carrying more than 40 children. There can be so many of them that the only free place of the female is the eyes.
If you find a wolf in your garden or at home, it's best not to kill it. Find a safe way to drive the specimen away. The thing is that they are useful for the environment. Spiders protect crops from pests and insects. But if children live in the house, or they often walk on the playground, it is advisable to get rid of them (poison is very dangerous for a child).
What does it eat?
All types of spiders have external digestion. They immobilize the prey, inject food juice into it and suck up the liquid inside the insect. This process may take more than a day. Large individuals are able to feed on ridge animals, such as mice. Small ones prefer insects, larvae and beetles.
flies
Flies are the most favorite delicacy. They often get caught in the web. But the wolves just catch them, thanks to their speed. Flies themselves are often caught in the net (which wolves do not for hunting, but to protect the nest).
beetles
Spiders catch beetles less often. The reason is that the prey may have a thick protective shell and be difficult to bite through. But for individuals with large fangs, like an adult wolf, this is not a problem. Beetles - great choice as food for spiders living at home in an aquarium. But it is better to give them in dried form.
insect larvae
Another favorite spider treat. When hunting, they can find a nest with larvae. The spider will have a real feast, because the number of individuals in such nests is large. Wolves suck juice from larvae.
small spiders
Spiders often eat their own kind. They choose small-sized individuals (no more than 1 centimeter). If you choose large individuals, it becomes difficult to digest them.
Is it dangerous for humans?
Any existing spider is considered poisonous. Another issue is the concentration and amount of poison, as well as the strength of the fangs. The wolf has very powerful fangs, it can easily bite through human skin. But the wolf spider is peaceful, and will attack only if it is frightened.
Depending on the type of spider, a person may have a different reaction to the poison. Allergy appears in most cases. Severe itching and swelling develops, sometimes the affected area becomes numb. But if the individual is large, necrotic lesions may appear. Soft tissue necrosis appears. In both cases, you need to immediately go to the doctor. The venom of the wolf is quite concentrated, and there is a risk of death.
The most dangerous species is the Brazilian wolf spider. If it bites a person, there will be severe pain and fever. A fatal outcome is possible (the poison is so concentrated that it can kill an adult elephant). But if you provide help in time (find the necessary antidote), you can save yourself from the bite of any spider. A key role is played by a person's tendency to allergic reactions.
Can you keep at home?
Yes, you can. An excellent home for a spider will be an aquarium. It is filled with soil mixture. So that the earth does not dry out, it should be irrigated often, but the water should not get on the pet. To make your pet more comfortable, you should put leaves and branches in the aquarium. Fresh water is a must.
The spider needs to be fed regularly. Provide him with a full diet of various insects (constantly change the menu). It is advisable to serve food crushed and dry. But if you want to entertain your pet and develop his instincts, you can throw live prey into the aquarium. A great option is cockroaches.
Sometimes the spider refuses to eat. Reason 4:
- He is not hungry.
- Going to shed.
- Containment conditions are violated (not enough fresh air enters the aquarium).
- You are giving your pet little water or poor quality food. Try to give him live prey.
The female is more suitable for keeping than the male. She is larger. It is very interesting to look after and watch how she will hunt. In addition, the female is not so whimsical to the conditions of detention, and easily tolerates temperature changes (it can survive even in mild frost). And the life expectancy of the female is twice that of the male (4 years, when the male has only 2).
If you plant a male with a female, then you can raise a whole offspring of children. But here you have to be careful. During the mating season, spiders are very aggressive, especially when it comes to gestation. If you make a mistake, there is a risk of being bitten. And remember, to create the comfort necessary for reproduction, it is necessary that the spider likes to live in a cage, and the food is varied (bugs, flies, larvae).
Wolf Spider - interesting inhabitant our planet. It is only dangerous if disturbed. And if a person loves such insects, you can take him as a pet. The main thing is not to violate the rules of keeping, then there will be no risk of being bitten.
For some reason, the stereotype that all spiders weave webs has taken root in the minds of many people. More precisely, that they cannot live without it, and this is the only way they are able to catch their victims. Well, the wolf spider can dispel this prejudice.
And if outwardly this marvelous creature does not differ much from its relatives, then its habits and hunting tactics deserve special attention. After all, it is not for nothing that this predator is called the "wolf spider", and now we will explain why.
A family with many species
You should start with the fact that all people one way or another encountered this spider, because its habitat is truly huge. And what is there to be surprised, because on this moment scientists have discovered more than two thousand species that, by all their characteristics, belong to the family of wolf spiders. Thus, they can be found as North America and in Western Siberia.
But, despite the fact that they are separated by a distance of thousands of kilometers, their habits are very similar. Consequently, they had one common ancestor, which became the progenitor for all existing species.
Description of the wolf spider
To be honest, it's pretty hard to give general description of all kind. After all, each representative of the wolf spider family has its own external differences. And yet, certain patterns can be deduced.
So, these arthropods have a dark gray color. The brightness and depth of color can vary greatly depending on which zone these spiders live in. Otherwise, the spider's disguise would not have been able to give it an advantage over its prey.
One more hallmark of this family are the legs. Since the wolf spider often moves from place to place, its legs have well-developed muscles. Therefore, against the background of the body, his legs look very impressive.
Name history
Now let's talk about where this name came from. After all, you must admit, they don’t give such names just like that. Well, the answer lies in the very behavior of the spider, which is very reminiscent of the habits of the wolf.
These creatures do not weave nets; nature has given them a completely different hunting mechanism. So, the wolf spider arranges ambushes, from which it will attack its victims. It could be his own burrow or some other dark place.
And yet, he was called a wolf not even because of this. The truth is that this spider does not stay in one place for long, like a real wolf, it travels from one territory to another in search of profit. If he finds a hot spot, he settles there, but as soon as the flow of food stops, he immediately begins to look for another shelter.
Wolf spider: is it poisonous?
To suppress the will of their victims, wolf spiders use poison that can paralyze them. But his strength is not too great, even by the standards of the animal world. Therefore, this predator rarely attacks prey that surpasses it in physical strength or size.
The most dangerous is considered to be a tarantula. This spider lives in almost all corners the globe, including in Russia. And although its poison can cause severe pain, cause nausea and dizziness, its bite has never led to a fatal outcome.
Character of wolf spiders
Despite their formidable name, these creatures have a good disposition. They hunt solely for food, and therefore they very rarely attack when they are already full.
They do not attack a person, unless, of course, he starts teasing the spider. Also, the animal can behave aggressively during mating, but this is due to an excess of hormones in the blood. In most cases, the spider will prefer to run away from the aggressor, rather than engage in combat with him. Due to the fact that they often change their habitat, they do not have special feelings for the hole.
During the day, the wolf spider prefers to rest inside its shelter or somewhere in the shade, as excessive heat has a bad effect on it. But if the weather is cool outside, then he can start hunting even in broad daylight.
Construction of "houses"
A wolf spider can settle both in a ready-made hole and dig its own. Despite the fact that this creature leads a nomadic lifestyle, comfort is not alien to him. So, having settled in a new house, he begins to equip it for himself.
First of all, he weaves signal networks near the entrance, so that they notify him of the approach of prey or the enemy. It also cobwebs the walls inside the nest. This is necessary so that the vibrations from the signal threads are transmitted to the hole even at those moments when the spider is resting.
web master
Even if these spiders do not weave webs, they still skillfully use the web. They have several tricks in their arsenal that even soldiers of elite units can envy.
For example, a wolf spider may attach a small amount of web to its paws in order to increase its grip on the ground. Thanks to this, he can make sharp jumps and lunges more accurately.
Or he can attach a web to his back, so that with it he can quickly get into the hole. Such a defense mechanism helps a lot in cases where the victim is much stronger than the spider originally intended.
mating season
Mating in wolf spiders occurs during the warm season. In this case, the couple breaks up immediately after the conception of offspring.
The female wolf spider bears all the offspring on her own. Surprisingly, she always carries a cocoon with spiders with her. And if you pick him up, then she will look for him for several days. And if another female with a cocoon meets on her way, then the first one can take the children by force.
Also, while nursing offspring, the spider does not eat anything, so after the children go to adulthood, she is dying. Although large and strong individuals can survive such a long period without food, without weakening so as not to be able to hunt again.
Many people keep pets in their apartments. Some get habitual cats or enjoy their pleasant company. Others prefer exotic or unusual animals - raccoons, capuchin monkeys. Someone has tender feelings for, then terrariums are built in apartments and houses and special food is bought. For such pets, which we will get to know better today, they use the name "arthropods". These are, but not ordinary forest or domestic, but special wolf spiders that live in the gardens of the middle lane and are almost invisible during the day due to their natural disguise. Let's find out more about wolf spiders - what these creatures are, how to feed them at home, and what such an unusual and frightening neighborhood is fraught with.
Wolf spiders: description
An amazing ability to disguise keeps these creatures from prying eyes. They are almost indistinguishable in dense vegetation, make holes in secluded corners, hunt only when there is no danger nearby. This spider looks unremarkable. 
He has a primitive body structure - the cephalothorax is used as a location for the organs of vision, mouth and respiratory organs. In the abdominal part, the internal organs of the spider are located, and long jointed legs extend from it. Its color is brownish-gray, earthy, so the description of the wolf spider can be confused with the hermit spider. They differ only in a special spot on the back in the form of a violin, which the wolf does not have.
The entire body of this arachnid is covered with hairs similar to wool. Eight eyes are placed on the head, two of which are especially large - the vision of this creature is much sharper than that of representatives of other subspecies. He needs a good ability to see over long distances for free hunting, since this spider does not weave nets, but catches prey moving along the territory adjacent to its hole.At the tips of each jointed paw, this spider has three claws, they help it move faster on different surfaces and overtake prey. The front legs of males are much more noticeable than those of females, and they are three to four times smaller in size than females, since females are designed to carry and feed offspring.
Distribution and habitat
These arachnids live on all continents and in all countries, except for areas of permafrost. The warmer the climate of the country, the higher the likelihood of meeting this creature there. Humidity is another favorable condition for wolf spiders, so they massively nest in moist leafy litter, on stones near water bodies. Everyone knows what they are, despite the fact that wolf spiders try to hide and remain invisible, and therefore they live alone in dense shrubs and flower beds, in heaps of stones, woodpile, in old sheds and warehouses.
Behavior and lifestyle
It is believed that this spider was named the wolf not only for the thick hairline on the abdomen, but also for the habit of living and hunting alone, and not by weaving trapping nets, but by real races for the fleeing victim. It preys mainly on small insects. Catches flies, beetles, other spiders and finds larvae laid by beetles. 
At night, these creatures sit in minks and catch insects running past, and during the daytime, they move near the mink on their own and, seeing potential prey, jump on it with all their weight, after attaching the web to the place from which the jump was made. Wolf spiders eat their victims, pressing them to the ground or other surface with their front paws, which look like jointed harpoons. This is a predatory arachnid, so it can immobilize large victims by injecting a poisonous substance with a bite.
Did you know? This type of arachnid has such a strong maternal instinct that the female, from whom the cocoon with the cubs was taken away, loses her peace and can wander aimlessly for hours in search of him. If the cocoon cannot be found, she clings to its place, that is, to the abdomen, any object that looks like it. There are cases when a female wolf spider replaced the cocoon with tiny pieces of cotton wool or balls of cotton fibers to create the illusion of bearing offspring.
Female wolf spiders mate exclusively with the males they like. Most often, mating takes place in the warm season - thus, in a temperate climate, this process takes place in the spring, and in a tropical climate it takes place all year round. The male attracts the attention of the female by swaying on his elongated front legs and slowly approaching her with a swaying gait. If the female decides that such a male suits her, she helps him climb onto her back. If the male is small, the female turns her abdomen so that it is convenient for him to introduce sperm into her genitals with the help of his penis (cymbium). 
Immediately after mating, the female begins to look for a cozy corner in order to settle down in it and start spinning a cocoon for fertilized eggs. In the resulting multi-layer ball, she carries eggs for two to three weeks, while spider babies mature in them. This ball is attached to the spinning organ of the female, from which she secretes a web to strengthen the cocoon. The cocoon ripens well only in sunny and warm weather, so the female looks for the warmest places for it and, due to the evaporation of moisture from the surface of her body, loses up to 30% of the total mass.
As soon as new spiders begin to hatch, the mother spider senses this, throws off the cocoon and breaks it, releasing the spiders from the web. She carries the offspring on herself for the next three to four weeks and feeds them until the babies begin to feed on their own. Depending on the size of the female, from forty to a hundred babies are placed on her abdomen - sometimes there are so many spiders that only the eyes remain free on the mother's body.As a pet, this creature does not cause much trouble. Despite the slight poisonousness and nervousness, the spider moves in jumps only when it is about to attack a possible victim, and practically does not move along vertical surfaces due to the weak coupling of its clawed legs. For its maintenance, a glass aquarium with a volume of ten to twenty liters is quite suitable. In order for the arachnid to be comfortable, it must be filled with soil mixture to a height of up to ten centimeters. In the aquarium, you need to maintain a constant temperature at the level of 28-30 degrees - females especially need such heat during the maturation of the cocoon. High humidity is another must comfortable living this pet. To prevent the air humidity in the aquarium from equalizing with room humidity, it must be covered with cling film.
Important! Individuals that carried offspring in the warm season, as well as young spiders that appeared in the warm season, are able to hibernate. They pupate or simply lie down in dark secluded places - it is better not to disturb such spiders in vain.
For home keeping, it is better to take a female than a male. Firstly, it is larger, so it will be more interesting for you to take care of it. Secondly, it is less whimsical in content - it is not disturbed by temperature fluctuations up to five degrees in both directions. In captivity, the female lives up to four years, while the male lives up to two years - the age of puberty and dies almost immediately after that. A female domestic spider can give numerous offspring, captivity only benefits her in matters of nutrition and comfort, however, you need to be careful with her during the gestation period, because she can bite. To do this, you need to plant a male spider that is capable of reproduction. 
Kinds
In total, this spider family has more than two thousand species, which are divided into one hundred and sixteen genera. Between themselves, these species differ in the way of hunting - running or burrow hunting, and the time of hunting - day or night. The most common type is called ampulian tarantula. This is a rather large arachnid, it reaches at least seven centimeters in length. Lives on the slopes of mountains and hills, loves to hide in fallen leaves and cover their minks with it. Its bite is very painful, and for a long time it was considered poisonous. 
Among the species of wolf spiders that are not tarantulas, in wooded areas, in private homes and on summer cottages often found leopard spiders and earth spiders. The former are distinguished by a bright silver stripe on the body and small size - only 0.5 cm. The latter are slightly larger, their dimensions reach one centimeter. They have similar habits and life expectancy. 
Another widespread species also applies to tarantulas - this South Russian tarantula. It is not as large as the Ampullian, only three centimeters, but it looks intimidating and is considered the largest arachnid in the CIS. In general, about eighty species of these creatures can be found in the middle lane. The rest live in tropical and subtropical regions. 
Did you know? The nervous system of this species of arthropods is better developed than nervous systems his other relatives. This is due to the fact that his hunting technique is fundamentally different from the typical spider. While all other representatives of the arthropod order sit on their trapping nets or in minks, waiting for the arrival of the victim, this tireless getter runs and searches for his prey on his own, overtaking her swiftly and suddenly. For the first time, such a method of hunting a wolf spider was discovered in the 90s of the XIX century.
The value of wolf spiders for nature and humans
As we have already said, at home for a wolf spider, an aquarium filled with soil mixture should be installed. So that the soil does not dry out, you can irrigate it from time to time without flooding the pet. Additionally, branches and leaves laid in the aquarium will only improve the living conditions of your pet. 
In order for the spider not to lack food, it needs to provide its usual diet - flies, beetles, larvae and mosquitoes. All this food is served to him in dried and crushed form. To entertain the pet and not let his instincts fade away, you can let live prey into the aquarium. For this purpose, cockroaches, crickets are suitable. The more often you let live insects in, the healthier your pet will be.
Beware of the powerful fangs of the wolf spider - they are filled with poison, which it injects when it bites, so you can not ask whether this creature is poisonous or not. In general, these arachnids are peaceful and attack people only if they are disturbed. Depending on the amount of poison injected, the strength of the bite, and the type of pet, different reactions develop. People prone to allergic reactions may develop severe swelling accompanied by itching, redness, and numbness of the skin around the bite site. The venom of some especially large individuals can cause necrotic lesions, and with such bites it is better to go to the doctors in order to prevent necrosis of the soft tissues surrounding the bite site.
The most poisonous species these arachnids are brazilian wolf spider, the consequences of a bite of which can be serious even for an adult healthy person, because the body reacts to its poison with excruciating pain.
Important! If the bite of this arachnid caused you a fever and numbness of the tissues, urgently go to the clinic- you may need an antidote or at least qualified medical advice.
Spiders are very unusual pets. Despite the fact that they are very popular due to their unpretentiousness, small size and unusual appearance, many owners of warm-blooded pets are horrified by watching the movement of wolf spiders around the aquarium. 
Wolf spiders are quite calm and easy to keep, because, unlike other arachnids, when a person appears, they hide, do not move well along vertical planes, and generally behave quite quietly both during feeding and during the period of gestation of a cocoon with eggs. You can’t call domestic spiders friendly, but knowing the intricacies of care and what they eat, understanding their habits, you can easily keep them both in a private house and in a small city apartment.
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The wolf spider is a representative of arachnids from the araneomorph family. It does not weave a web, and its hemolymph, which replaces blood, acquires a blue tint under certain conditions. Settling in gardens and orchards, these predatory arthropods help the owners of household plots in many ways - they destroy a huge number of harmful insects that can cause serious damage to the crop.
Characteristic
As you can see in the photo, the wolf spider has a primitive body structure - it is divided into the cephalothorax and abdomen. The covers are usually dark and painted in black, brown or dark gray. Light individuals are extremely rare. Due to their color, wolf spiders are able to perfectly disguise themselves - they almost completely merge with the environment.
The representatives of this family have pronounced sexual dimorphism: females are much larger than males, while the latter have darker integuments, and the pair of forelimbs is much better developed. The front legs are used by males to attract the attention of females and during mating.
As for vision, wolf spiders have relatively good eyesight. They have 4 pairs of eyes arranged in 3 rows: on the bottom row there are two pairs of small eyes, in the middle - a pair of the largest, in the top - two side eyes, which are slightly higher than the middle pair.
It is interesting! Thanks to good eyesight and a well-developed sense of smell, wolf spiders are able to detect a potential victim from a rather impressive distance - about 30 cm. But it is believed that these creatures are not able to distinguish between shapes!
The relationship between the organs of the body of the wolf spider is provided by a transparent hemolymph, which acts as blood. It has one feature - as soon as the spider goes out into the open air, the hemolymph becomes blue.
Kinds
The family of wolf spiders is quite large - it includes more than 2 thousand species, which are united in 116 genera. At the same time, representatives of each species hunt in their own way. Some can be active during the daytime, looking for a potential victim for several hours. Others prefer to forage at dusk. There are also passive wolf spiders that will peacefully wait for the approach of the victim right in their hole.
To the most known species wolf spiders include:
- Apulian tarantulas are rather large arthropods, whose body size can be about 7 cm. Representatives of this species prefer to settle on the slopes of the mountains, where they dig their holes and frame the entrance to them with a roller of fallen leaves. For a long time they were considered very poisonous, and in order to save their lives after being bitten, it was necessary to start a fast dance.
On a note! This is how the Italian folk dance, the tarantella, was born!
- The second most famous wolf spider is also a tarantula -. Representatives of this species are recognized as the largest spiders living in Russia. The body length of adult males is approximately 2.5 cm, females - 3 cm. South Russian tarantulas are painted in dark brown, brown-red or black. They live in burrows, from which they try not to stray far even during the hunt.
Lifestyle
Wolf spiders prefer to lead a solitary lifestyle and interact with each other only during the mating season. They dig holes for themselves and entangle their walls with their own cobwebs. And for hunting, they do not need a trapping net - they catch up with prey by jumping or simply catching up.
The diet of these representatives of the spider kingdom includes:
- flies;
- beetles;
- small spiders;
- springtails;
- insect larvae.
Reproduction and development
Wolf spiders that live in temperate regions mate in the summer, while those that belong to tropical species mate year-round. The male, noticing the female, begins to give enticing signals - he rises on his hind legs and, shaking his front legs, slowly approaches her. If the “boyfriend” is to the liking of the female, she turns her abdomen towards him and folds the front pair of legs, along which the male climbs onto her back.
After mating, the female wolf spider retires to a quiet place, where it begins to weave a silk cocoon for future offspring. She places eggs in it, puts several more layers of cobwebs on top and, after the cocoon acquires a spherical shape, attaches it to the edge of her abdomen. The female carries the clutch on herself for 2-3 weeks.
After the specified time, tiny spiders begin to emerge from the eggs. At this time, the female breaks the cocoon with her mouth organ, helping the offspring to get out. The babies climb on their mother, and she wears them on the body until they learn to get their own food.
Female and offspring: interesting facts
- Females of some species can carry a huge number of spiderlings, sometimes they cover the entire body, only the eyes remain free.
- In order for the development in the egg to proceed faster, heat is needed. Therefore, the female tries to spend as much time as possible under the rays of the sun. As a result, her body loses a large amount of moisture, which often leads to a loss of 30% of weight.
- If the female suddenly loses a cocoon with eggs, she will experience severe stress. She can wander for hours in search of the missing offspring. There were situations when females, instead of the missing cocoon, clung to their abdomen an ordinary piece of cotton wool. But the most incredible case occurred with a spider of the species Pardosa riparia - having lost her masonry, she bore a cocoon belonging to a larger species of spiders. It turned out that someone else's cocoon was four times larger than her own.
Are these spiders dangerous?
Wolf spiders are mildly venomous arachnids and are not aggressive. They only attack when they feel threatened. Their bite may be accompanied by symptoms such as:
- redness;
- prolonged pain.
Important! But the consequences can be more serious and occur after the bites of tropical species. Symptoms will be as follows: prolonged intense pain, swelling in the affected area, nausea, dizziness, headaches. In this situation, a visit to the doctor is required!
However, in those cases when the wolf spider encounters a serious opponent, he prefers not to attack, but to pretend to be dead. He very quickly takes the pose of the defeated, turning the lower side of the abdomen up, and freezes. Despite the fact that this position of the body is far from the most convenient for arthropods, the wolf spider can stay in it for quite some time. And as soon as the threat passes, he immediately “comes to life”, quickly turns over on his paws and leaves the danger zone with lightning speed.
The name "wolf spider" is shared by several members of the Lycosidés family. Several of these species are similar to each other, but the most common is Pardosa amentata. Wolf spiders do not weave webs, they hunt on the ground, where they wait for their prey. These spiders are often very numerous in the same area, and got their name from the once erroneous belief that they hunt in packs like wolves.
Despite its name, the wolf spider is quite small, much smaller than other spiders, with which it coexists very often.
The color of the wolf spider varies from gray to brown. The abdomen may have a light or dark stripe along the midline. Females are somewhat paler than males. The body length of females exceeds 2.5 cm, and with legs 8 cm. The male is somewhat smaller and the maximum length of his body is less than 2 cm. This spider can move very quickly and attack people (solely for self-defense purposes). So be very careful when handling it.
The female wolf spider lives all her life in a hole, from which she hunts, sitting at the entrance. Males travel around the territory in search of females and prey. The burrow is a vertical gallery that can reach a depth of 30 cm, and is located, as a rule, on rocky and sunny areas. The entrance to the burrow is a funnel of grass glued together with cobwebs. The funnel helps to avoid the attack of the yellow scorpion (Buthus occitanus) - the main enemy of the wolf spider. The height of the funnel serves to assess the suitability of the female - a female well protected from predators will be able to safely raise offspring, and also indicates to the male the likelihood of him being eaten by the female, since the deeper the funnel that she builds, the less likely she will be hungry in moment of mating. Wolf spiders are nocturnal, although females can be seen at the entrance to their burrow in good weather throughout the day.
Wolf spiders have very good eyesight and tend to run away from large animals and humans. Despite this, they are venomous, their venom is designed to attack insects and their sting is usually no more painful than a bee sting.
These spiders can be found in all countries except the Arctic regions of Greenland. They can be seen from April to September in the forest floor, in gardens, parks, and even on beaches. These spiders are excellent pest control. They are a great help for farmers and gardeners, because they destroy pests - gypsy moth, pea aphid, etc.
More and more more people choose these spiders as pets. The wolf spider becomes a pet quite often now. Although the wolf is not very poisonous, nevertheless, it is a little nervous and very fast creature. Thus, there are some precautions when keeping this spider. If this topic interests you, you need to know a few important rules.
For starters, remember that it's always best to take a female. Female wolf spiders can reach four years of age or older. Males can live up to two years, dying shortly after reaching puberty. In addition, females can produce numerous offspring during their lifetime.
An aquarium with a volume of 10 to 20 liters is suitable for keeping a spider. The height of the aquarium is not important, as the wolf spider does not climb vertical surfaces very well. The aquarium is filled with peat or soil to a height of 6 to 12 cm from the base. The temperature inside the aquarium should be kept between 25 and 30°C and humidity between 75 and 80%. Humidity must be controlled and can be increased by covering the top of the aquarium with plastic wrap. It is necessary to regularly provide the spider with live food - crickets, cockroaches, other large insects, as well as fresh water.
The wolf spider's diet consists of insects such as flies, mosquitoes, crickets and beetle larvae, etc. They also eat other types of spiders. The wolf is able to eat prey that is the same size and even slightly larger, such as lizards and frogs. It is a voracious predator that hunts almost exclusively at night. It actively pursues its prey and bites it with its powerful venom-filled fangs. The poison of this spider is not fatal to humans. However, its bites can leave marks on the skin for a long time, as the poison can cause necrosis.
Usually the wolf spider does not attack people unless it is frightened. If you decide to keep a wolf spider as a pet, it is important to know what symptoms may occur after being bitten.
Some people have an allergic reaction to a wolf spider bite. This can lead to fever, swelling, and a dangerous increase in blood pressure. But this is extremely rare and only in people with allergies. Usually, the bite of a wolf spider can be compared to a bee sting. As a rule, a spider bite does not require medical attention, but there are people who are especially sensitive to the poison, so they should be more careful. In addition, there are more dangerous species, such as the Brazilian wolf spider. Its bite is much more serious, even for a healthy adult.
The wolf spider is an expert in hunting. It has a powerful visual system: two large eyes in front, 4 small ones below, and 2 more on top of the skull. No one seems to be able to escape from him, and he, in turn, is also very cautious, hiding from the slightest danger.
During mating, the male approaches the female with great care, from a distance of 4 cm, to prevent any attack. Its tentacles serve as a copulatory organ.
The laid eggs are formed by the female into a cocoon and are attached to the end of the abdomen with the help of a web. Young spiderlings often remain on their mother's back even more than a week after birth.
