Dotted Wolf Spider

This beautiful pin-striped spider is a Dotted Wolf Spider (Rabidosa punctulata formerly Lycosa punctulata). There are over 2300 species of wolf spiders Worldwide, making them one of the most common spiders in the World. This species is found throughout most of the United States. Autumn is the best time to find spiders as they have reached their adult size and are much more visible. Rest assured they were always present, just not easily seen in their juvenile state. Wolf spiders are some of the most easily recognized spiders in the Missouri. They are almost always large and often furry looking. Which often results in them being mistaken for tarantulas. While we do have tarantulas in Missouri, they only occur in the southern portion of the state. The Missouri River seems to be a barrier for them and they are not found in the northern part of our state.

        (Missouri Tarantula)                                                                        (Wolf Spider)

Wolf spiders however are found all over Missouri; there are five species of wolf spiders within the genus Rabidosa in North America. Dotted wolf spiders are not especially furry-looking like many other wolf spiders tend to be, but they are distinctive in other ways.

 

(Wolf spider in the genus Tigrosa carrying her babies)

 

                                                      (Wolf Spider that may be Hogna frondicola)

Dotted Wolf Spiders have bold stripes and a light golden color that sets them apart from most wolf spiders in other genus'. This also makes them rather dashing looking. They also have a series of spots or "dots" on the underside of their abdomen, if you can manage to see them.

Spiders differ from insects in some very obvious ways, insects have 3 body parts (Head, thorax and abdomen) whereas spiders have two body parts (cephalothorax (head and thorax combined into one part, and the abdomen). Insects posses 6 legs and spiders 8. All spiders posses venom and only a few insects do, all spiders can spin silk, only a few insects do. Spiders are meat eaters and do not feed on vegetation. Insects run the gambit of food preferences.


Spiders have unique eyes; most possess 8 eyes with a few exceptions like brown recluses which possess 6 eyes. Most spiders have poor eyesight, but spiders like wolf spiders have exceptional eyesight for their size. Wolf spiders are night time hunters and rely more heavily on their eyesight than do other spiders which rely more on their sensitive sense of touch (in their legs).
8-eyed spiders possess two direct sighted eyes, that are usually dark in color and very visible to the human eye, as pictured here (above right). The smaller, or indirect eyes are not as easily seen by us. These eyes usually have a layer of light reflecting crystals. This reflective quality allows them to see better in low light situations, which is a necessity  if you are a night hunter. Because of the reflective quality of their eyes they will glow when you shine a flashlight on them. This is a fun activity to do with your children. Grab a flashlight and head outside and let the kids shine the light in the grass and look for the "glowing eyes." It will amaze you to see just how many spiders are hunting in your yard.

Wolf spiders produce silk but do not use it to spin webs like orb weavers and many other spiders do. Instead the silk is used to spin egg sacs, to protect spiderlings and to capture food to save for later use. When she forms her egg sac she will carry it with her attached to the tip of her abdomen. When the spiderlings are ready to emerge from the egg sac it will change from a shiny bright white to a dark dirty brown.

 (Wolf spider in genus Tigrosa guarding her egg sac from a large predator....ME)

Then they will climb onto their mothers abdomen and ride around with her for awhile. She guards them temporarily until they are ready to be on their own. Usually a few weeks or so , but there are records of some spiderlings staying on their mothers back for up to 6 months. It is not uncommon to see a female traveling with her brood on her backside late in the summer or early fall. This burden may consist of 50 or more babies. Life span for these spiders is two years or so


Their habitat is typically woodlands, cotton fields and other croplands, old buildings, and grasslands. They may also be found near ponds or in old rodent burrows. Look for them near garbage piles, rock piles, log piles, or within holes in the ground. It is reported that wolf spiders can act aggressively towards humans. I really do not like the term aggression when describing an animals reaction to humans. I prefer defensive. Animals, be it a mammal, reptile or insect will defend itself. Often this defense involves a bite, and many fear a bite from one of these spiders, and it is reported to be painful. They do possess venom, as do all spiders, but the venom is not harmful to humans. It is designed to subdue and liquify their prey. The one photographed here did not exhibit any "aggressive" behavior towards me and I was able to coax her onto my hand for a photo. I handled her in a gentle manner and tried to appear as non-threatening as I could.

Wolf spiders are excellent hunters and typically rely on ambush techniques to capture a wide variety of small insects, including crickets, flies, ants, locusts, and other spiders. They may also run down prey. They help control insect populations, which makes them beneficial to humans. While they are excellent predators, they are often the prey. Small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and other spiders all feed on wolf spiders. There are even a group of wasps called spiders hunters that prey on spiders, especially wolf spiders, and uses them to feed their offspring.  In August I photographed a spider hunter capturing a rabid wolf spider. If you want to read about these amazing wasps the link is Spider Hunter.

                  (Spider wasp dragging a rabid wolf spider to her burrow to lay eggs on the paralyzed body)

 For another great article on this species visit my friend Eric Eaton's blog and read what he has to say about this species.....Bug Eric