They’ll creep in wherever they find a crack - under doors, at the foundation, anywhere they can. We see an influx of spiders in the home when the weather turns cold. How do I keep Wolf Spiders Out of My Home? But get this, if she’s startled, those little ones will scatter, everywhere! Once they leave mom, they will find borrows of their own and that is how an infestation takes root. Up to 100 spiderlings can hatch and live on mom for several weeks. When they hatch, the young will simply remain on her through their juvenile lives. The female will wrap up the eggs in silk and then attach them to her back. Wolf Spiders are the only known species to carry their young on their back. She enjoys taking photos of our urban wild things.Why does My House Have so Many Wolf Spiders? Jeanine Farley is an educational writer who has lived in the Boston area for more than 30 years. Include the photographer’s name and the general location where the photo was taken. Have you taken photos of our urban wild things? Send your images to Cambridge Day, and we may use them as part of a future feature. Although these wolf spiders may look scary, they are just trying to survive, and since they keep insect pests at bay, it’s probably best to leave them alone so they can patrol the area once the weather warms in spring. In the winter, most wolf spiders hibernate in a warm place, so you might find that you have an eight-legged visitor in your shed. A bite will cause you swelling and itchiness at the site for a few days, but the venom is not poisonous. Wolf spiders bite humans only as a last resort, when they feel that they cannot escape. They enclose larger prey in their legs and bite and eat it. Wolf spiders bite small prey immediately. The spiderlings climb up onto the mother’s back, sometimes stacked in several layers, for a week or two, until they complete their development and are large enough to hunt for themselves.Ī wolf spider spotted in June carries an egg sac under her abdomen. When the babies are mature, the female tears open the sac with her jaws to allow the youngsters to emerge. She might move the sac into or out of the sunlight to control the temperature of the developing eggs. She carries this egg sac under her abdomen into the summer as she hunts, often raising her abdomen to avoid damaging it. She places this disc on the ground and lays about 48 eggs in the center, then spins another disc on top and connects the two to form a sac. In May or June, she builds an egg sac by making a disc of silk with her spinnerets (the silk-spinning organs). (Photo: Thomas Shahan via Wikimedia Commons)Īlthough wolf spiders might seem heartless, the female is a devoted mother. Wolf spiders have eight eyes: A bottom row of four, a middle row with two large ones and an upper row with two angled ones. You might be able to spot the large eyes at night if you shine a flashlight along the ground – these spiders have tissues in their eyes that reflect light. On top are two medium-sized eyes, farther back on the head. Two very large eyes in the middle row set wolf spiders apart from other species. Wolf spiders have amazing vision – and who wouldn’t with three rows of eight eyes! The bottom row has four eyes. (A scary thought, especially as they can range from a quarter-inch to more than 1.5 inches in body size!) Most are nocturnal and therefore hunt at night. Unlike wolves, however, wolf spiders do not hunt in packs. One will lie in wait until prey happens by, then pounce like a wolf. These locations are good hunting grounds for these spiders and hunting is what they do. You might see one in your yard, garage, shed or basement. They live on the ground or hide under rocks, logs, leaves or plants. Unlike many others, they do not spin webs. (Photo: Ryan Hodnett via Wikimedia Commons)įound around the world including here in Cambridge, wolf spiders are one of the most common species of spiders. Although most wolf spiders are nocturnal, they can sometimes be seen basking in the sun to keep warm.
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