Wolf spider: Difference between revisions

[[Image:Wolf Spider with Baby Spider on Back.jpg|thumb|150px|left|The wolf spider]]This spider is usually large and hairy. An adult is at least 1/2 inch long.[http://www.termite.com/spider-identification.html#wolf] Because there are many different species of wolf spiders, there are a wide variety of colors.It usually has a gray or dark brown color with a distinct orange coloring on the front of the chelicerae and patterns on the front or abdomen.[http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_wolf_spider.php] Its body is generally robust with eight thick legs that are sparsely covered by hairs. The fourth pair of legs are usually the longest. Like other spiders, two body segments (the cephalothorax and the abdomen) and spinnerets that make silk. They also have two sets of mouthparts: pedipalps and poisonous, fang-like chelicerae .[http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/spiders/wolf/wolf.htm]The wolf spider has a well-developed nervous system with a brain and impeccable eyesight. A key identifying characteristic are the eyes. Four larger eyes form a square above a row of four small eyes. The posterior set of  large eyes face slightly up. The middle set of large eyes face forward. A row of four smaller eyes lay below the two sets of large eyes. [http://www.amonline.net.au/factSheets/wolf_spiders.htm][http://www.wmmg.com/research/insects/wolfspiders.asp] They also breathe using book lungs and have open circulatory systems (Miller and Levine, 717).