Wolf spider: Difference between revisions

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== Reproduction ==
== Reproduction ==
[[Image:Wolf spiders courtin.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Courtship of the wolf spiders]][[Image:Wolf_spider_with_big_egg_sac.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Female carrying a large egg sac]] Mating generally begins outside the female's burrow at night. Males are first attracted by the pheremones of the female. Then they begin a courtship ritual in which he will tap his legs in a certain way, drum with his palps, and create sounds by scraping the palp against itself (also called stridulation). [http://www.amonline.net.au/factSheets/wolf_spiders.htm][http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_wolf_spider.php] After they mate, the female will create a large egg sac that is often made of white silk and shaped like a ball. The female will continue to carry the egg sac by attaching it to her spinnerets. When the eggs hatch after about a month, the mother will tear open the egg sac and will carry the young spiders on her back.[http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_wolf_spider.php] The young spiders will remain there by holding onto specialized hairs.[http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_wolf_spider.php] When they are ready to leave their mother, they will leave on the ground or balloon (float with the breeze using their silk).[http://www.amonline.net.au/factSheets/wolf_spiders.htm][http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761582521/Wolf_Spider.html]
[[Image:Wolf spiders courtin.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Courtship of the wolf spiders]][[Image:Wolf_spider_with_big_egg_sac.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Female carrying a large egg sac]] Mating generally begins outside the female's burrow at night. Males are first attracted by the pheremones of the female. Then they begin a courtship ritual in which he will tap his legs in a certain way, drum with his palps, and create sounds by scraping the palp against itself (also called stridulation). [http://www.amonline.net.au/factSheets/wolf_spiders.htm][http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_wolf_spider.php] After they mate, the female will create a large egg sac that is often made of white silk and shaped like a ball. The female will continue to carry the egg sac by attaching it to her spinnerets. When the eggs hatch after about a month, the mother will tear open the egg sac and will carry the young spiders on her back.[http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_wolf_spider.php] The young spiders will remain there by holding onto specialized hairs.[http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_wolf_spider.php] When they are ready to leave their mother, they will leave on the ground or balloon (float with the breeze using their silk). They will live for about two years.[http://www.amonline.net.au/factSheets/wolf_spiders.htm][http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761582521/Wolf_Spider.html]
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wolf spiders live for up to two years.  
[http://www.amonline.net.au/factSheets/wolf_spiders.htm]
 
 
 
The female wolf spider lays eggs in a large sac, which can be nearly as large as her own body. She attaches the egg sac to her body, and carries it until the eggs hatch. She then tears open the egg sac and the newly hatched spiders climb onto her back where they remain for up to a week. [http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761582521/Wolf_Spider.html]
 
Wolf spiders are expert and vigorous hunters. Adult males can be found wandering throughout the summer rainy season, presumably searching for mates. The male must give the female appropriate signals when he finds her, to avoid being perceived as a threat. He does this by tapping his legs in a particular fashion. He also drums with his palps, and in a procedure called stridulation, he produces sounds by scraping the palp against itself. After the female lays eggs, she carries the egg case with her wherever she goes, attached to her spinnerets. Sometimes she suns the egg case, sticking her rump, with egg case attached, outside the burrow entrance. The spiderlings hatch after about a month and climb onto the mother’s back, holding onto specialized hairs. After another month, they disperse, sometimes by ballooning. A female wolf spider may live up to 2 years. [http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_wolf_spider.php]


== Ecology ==
== Ecology ==
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