Carolina Wolf Spider

• The mother carries the egg sac attached to her spinnerets and, once it hatches, carries the dozens of spiderlings riding on her abdomen for days.
• Its eyes reflect torchlight like tiny green embers, which makes it possible to spot them at night from tens of metres away.
• Despite its size and its bad reputation, its bite is of no serious consequence to people.
• It is the largest wolf spider in North America, with a body of up to 3.5 cm and a considerable leg span.
• Its eyes shine at night: the tapetum lucidum of the two central eyes reflects torchlight and gives them away from tens of metres, a classic method for surveying them.
• The mother carries the egg sac attached to her spinnerets and, when they hatch, the spiderlings climb onto her abdomen and ride on her for weeks, stacked in several layers.
• It spins no hunting web: it runs its prey down or waits for it at the mouth of its burrow.
• Its bite is painful but of no medical significance, despite its intimidating size.
• Its burrows can be deep and it keeps them open all year round, sealing them with silk and soil in winter.

Skeleton type

Invertebrate - chitin exoskeleton (arachnid)

Habitat & environment

Dry grassland, fields and arid country of North America

Sources consulted: Universidad de Florida, Featured Creatures; Punzo, The Biology of Wolf Spiders; Bradley, Common Spiders of North America