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Wolf spider: Difference between revisions
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== Anatomy == | == Anatomy == | ||
[[Image:Wolf Spider with Baby Spider on Back.jpg|thumb|150px|left|The wolf spider]] | [[Image:Wolf Spider with Baby Spider on Back.jpg|thumb|150px|left|The wolf spider]]Spider Identification - an adult is 1/2 inch to more than 1 inch in body length - mottled gray to brown in color, with a distinct Union Jack impression on its back. The female carries it's young on its back. [http://www.termite.com/spider-identification.html#wolf] | ||
Wolf spiders are large, with a 1 inch (25 mm) body length; like tarantulas, they live in burrows. Wolf spider burrows can be differentiated from tarantula burrows by the turret of silk and twigs that extends vertically from the wolf spider’s hole. The wolf spider can be from gray to dark brown with distinctive peach or orange coloration on the front of the chelicerae. [http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_wolf_spider.php] | |||
Wolf spiders range from about 1/2 inch to 2 inches in length, hairy, and are typically brown to gray in color with various markings or lines. Wolf spider mothers carry their large egg sacs around with them. When the young spiderlings hatch they climb onto their mother's back and ride around until partially grown. Wolf spiders are not poisonous, though as with all spiders, bites may cause reactions in certain individuals. [http://www.ento.okstate.edu/ddd/insects/wolfspider.htm] | |||
Wolf Spiders are large, hairy spiders which are usually patterned with a mixture of black, gray, and brown. Wolf spiders, especially large ones, look very similar to spiders in the Pisauridae family (nursery web and fishing spiders), but wolf spiders are usually more robust, with shorter legs. Wolf spiders have 8 eyes. As with all spiders, wolf spiders have 8 legs, 2 body parts (cephalothorax and abdomen), and fang-like mouthparts called "chelicerae." | |||
[http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/spiders/wolf/wolf.htm] | |||
Most wolf spiders have stout bodies and long, thick legs. Their bodies are low to the ground even when walking or running, giving them the appearance of continually being on the prowl. Wolf spider species are similar in general form, but their bodies vary greatly in size, ranging from 2 mm (0.08 in) to nearly 40 mm (1.6 in) in length. They typically have two very large, forward-looking eyes in the middle of their face, flanked by two large upward-looking eyes, and a row of four smaller eyes below. Wolf spiders generally locate their prey by sight, but may also use touch to determine the nature of the prey. They use their front legs to grab prey, then bite and crush it with powerful jawlike mouth parts called chelicerae. [http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/arachnids/spiders/wolf_spider/] | |||
There are many species of Wolf spider, ranging in size from about 1-8 cm across the legs. Their body colours are typically drab, with most having variegated patterns in brown and yellow, grey, black and white; some inland species are a bright salmon pink below. Often the patterns include radiating lines on the carapace (front of the body) and scroll-like patterns on the abdomen. The spider's underside is light grey, cream or black, sometimes salmon pink, often with black or white markings superimposed. The sides of their jaws may have a small raised orange spot or 'boss'. Wolf spiders have eight eyes in three rows (4,2,2), with the four smaller eyes in front and the four largest arranged in a square on top of the high and convex head. [http://www.amonline.net.au/factSheets/wolf_spiders.htm] | |||
Long body covered with hairs can be nearly 1 ½ inches in length and have a leg span of 3 inches. | |||
Key identifying character is the positioning of eyes: bottom row consists of 4 small eyes of equal size. The posterior, top row, is curved backward with the middle two eyes larger in size. | |||
Legs are very long with the 4th pair being the longest in length; all legs are sparsely covered by hairs. | |||
They are black and white or earthtoned in color. Coloration may be uniform over entire body or arranged in patterns. [http://www.wmmg.com/research/insects/wolfspiders.asp] | |||
Most wolf spiders have stout bodies and long, thick legs. Their bodies are low to the ground even when walking or running, giving them the appearance of continually being on the prowl. Wolf spider species are similar in general form, but their bodies vary greatly in size, ranging from 2 mm (0.08 in) to nearly 40 mm (1.6 in) in length. They typically have two very large, forward-looking eyes in the middle of their face, flanked by two large upward-looking eyes, and a row of four smaller eyes below. Wolf spiders generally locate their prey by sight, but may also use touch to determine the nature of the prey. They use their front legs to grab prey, then bite and crush it with powerful jawlike mouth parts called chelicerae.[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761582521/Wolf_Spider.html] | |||
== Reproduction == | == Reproduction == | ||
