![]() Unlike crickets and cicadas, these sounds are barely loud enough for humans to hear without special amplification equipment. The males of some wolf spiders, including species of brushlegged wolf spiders, stridulate - creating sound vibrations that attract females. Wolf spiders use other interesting tactics including “singing” and “dancing” to attract a mate. Females of some wolf spiders are known to spin silk “draglines” containing pheromones, special chemical messages for mating purposes that the male can follow. FascinatingĮven though wolf spiders do not use webs to catch their food as other kinds of spiders do, they can produce silk from a set of six spinnerets positioned at the end of their abdomen. This aspect of spider study can be a real challenge. Most can be confidently identified only through examining their reproductive structures with a microscope. One reason for this is that distinguishing between wolf spider species can be technical and difficult. ![]() Some of the larger and more familiar wolf spiders have common names, while most wolf spider species are known only by their scientific names. Size and color patterns are helpful for identification and to distinguish between different species. Large wolf spiders, such as tiger wolf spiders, may be more than ¾ inch long, while their legs cause them to appear even larger. Pirate wolf spiders are tiny, less than 1/8 inch measured from the front of the head to the back tip of the abdomen (not including legs). Different wolf spider species also vary in size. Upon closer examination, wolf spiders can also have a wide variety of stripes, bands, and spots of orange, black, and white on their head, abdomen, and legs. The hairs seen on spiders are known as setae. This cryptic coloration helps them hide from predators and avoid detection by all but the most observant people. At first glance, they all appear to be brown, tan, and gray. More than 40 species of wolf spider have been documented in Missouri. The spider’s mouth is located behind the chelicera at the base of the pedipalps. As with other spiders, small, jointed, leglike appendages known as pedipalps extend in front of the chelicera. Tiny fangs are rarely seen since they are nested in grooves until the spider needs them to capture its prey. Wolf spider mouth parts, called chelicera, include two stout, basal segments that make up a prominent feature of the spider’s face below the eye rows. Below there is a row of four more smaller eyes. Four large eyes form the corners of a box-shape as seen from above. Wolf spiders can be distinguished from other types of spiders by their unique eye arrangement. They have eight legs, which are attached at the base of the cephalothorax. Spiders have two main body parts -the head, which is known as the cephalothorax, and the abdomen. Wolf spiders make up the Lycosidae family, which gets its name from lycos, the Greek word for wolf. Although these spiders do not move in a coordinated pack as wolves do, their grayish color, furry appearance, hunting behavior, and nocturnal habits also seem wolflike. Webs to catch their prey, wolf spiders are active hunters that stalk and pounce. The comparison of some types of spiders to little wolves dates back to descriptions of certain spiders made by the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, more than 2,000 years ago. They are distinctive, abundant, and important wildlife elements in Missouri’s ecosystems. Wolf spiders are among the most familiar type of spider in Missouri. Spotting prey nearby, it waits - then leaps, grasping the insect in its jaws. It moves quietly among the leaves and plants of the undergrowth. In the tree-dappled moonlight not far from your home, a predator is hunting.
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