Wikijunior:Bugs/Wolf Spider

What does it look like?

If you point a flash light at the ground you might see little green eyes; it is a wolf spider. They are hairy, and typically brown to gray in color with various markings or lines. The wolf spider's body size is less than 1 to 30 millimeters.

Where does it live?

They live in common houses. They look for warm places for winter time, like garages. Wolf Spiders may be found in a wide range of habitats, like shrublands, woodlands, wet coastal forests, alpine meadows, and even suburban gardens.

What does it eat?

The wolf spider eats bugs and insects — crickets, other spider, ants, grasshopers — and also small lizards and frogs. The wolf spider kills its prey by injecting venom.

How does it defend itself?

The wolf spider defends itself by injecting you with venom. They say that if you bother them it will inject venom and if you get bitten you get swelling, mild pain, and itching; it is painful.

What stages of metamorphosis does it go through?

The Wolf Spiders' mother carries their large egg sac around with her. When the baby spiderlings hatch they climb on the mother's back and ride around until partially grown.

What special behavior does it exhibit?

They do not spin a web but roam at night to hunt for food. The wolf spider is shy and seeks to run away when disturbed.

How does this bug affect people?

Not all spider bites are poisonous. The wolf spider might poison you.