wolf spider

Class: Arachnida (scorpions, whipscorpions, spiders, mites, etc.)
Order: Araneae (spiders)
Family: Lycosidae (wolf spiders)
Species: undetermined
Common Name: wolf spider (not species specific)
Date: 2001 August 14
Place: Guadalupe Mountains National Park
    Bowl Trail

Many spiders actively hunt for their food rather than constructing webs to capture prey. Among the active hunters, wolf spiders are usually found running along on the ground or over stones rather than across vegetation. They have 8 eyes - in the picture you can see 4 eyes of which the 2 eyes at the front of the face are the biggest. Female wolf spiders carry their eggs sacs around with them attached to their spinnerets (located on the underside of the abdomen at the rear). After the eggs hatch, the young spiderlings ride around on the back of the female until they are ready to hunt on their own.

female wolf spider with young

female wolf spider with young on her abdomen

Links

Note: This is a personal web site and is not affiliated with the National Park Service or Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Contact information for the author, Ron Lyons, is accessible through the Index Page referenced below. Thank you.