Ground wolf 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
Ground wolf spider (Trochosa terricola)
Web: Wolf spiders don’t make a catching web, but are active hunters that use their legs and jaws to immobilize prey. The Ground wolf spider hunts predominantly during the night.
Habitat: underneath rocks, litter, moss, in humid areas.
How to recognize:
- big, robust wolf spider
- cephalothorax with typical light midband, with two dark stripes in the widened part
- abdomen with cardiac mark that ususally doesn’t clearly stand out against the rest of the abdomen.
Looks similar to:
- the three other Trochosa species in Belgium. The differences in the markings of the cardiac mark are not a reliable determination characteristic. Investigating the reproductive structures using a stereomicroscope gives a definitive identification.
Size
♀: 7-14 mm
♂: 7-9 mm
When?
♀: throughout the year
♂: throughout the year
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Female with two dark length stripes on carapace ©Bryan Goethals
Female with two dark length stripes on carapace ©Bryan Goethals
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Sideview male ©Gilbert Loos
Sideview male ©Gilbert Loos
View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://www.spiderspotter.com/en/species/wolf-spiders/54-ground-wolf-spider#sigProId8d0e51d89f
https://www.spiderspotter.com/en/species/wolf-spiders/54-ground-wolf-spider#sigProId8d0e51d89f
