Common fox spider
Know more?
Wolf spiders are very good mothers. They carry their egg sac along, fixed to the spinnerets. When the spiderlings hatch from the eggs, they use their mothers legs to climb on her back. That way they get a safe ride. This also explains some internet video’s that show a wolf spider that suddenly bursts out into dozens of little spiders.
Common fox spider (Alopecosa pulverulenta)
Web: wolf spiders don’t make a catching web, but are active hunters that use their legs and jaws to immobilize prey.
Habitat: Occurs in open habitas such as gardens, grassland clearings in woodland,… . Can be frequent.
How to recognize:
- cephalothorax (dark)brown, with a lighter midstripe
- abdomen yellowish red to olive green, with clearly marked cardiac mark.
- legs yellow/red, darkly annulated
- ♂: darker colour, strong contrast between light midstripe and darker areas of the cephalothorax .
Looks similar to:
- several other wolf spiders. Investigating the reproductive structures using a stereomicroscope gives a definitive identification.
Size
♀: 5-8 mm
♂: 6,5-11 mm
When?
♀: April till July
♂: April till July
View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://www.spiderspotter.com/en/species/wolf-spiders/51-common-fox-spider#sigProId19e5b9d81c
https://www.spiderspotter.com/en/species/wolf-spiders/51-common-fox-spider#sigProId19e5b9d81c
