The word itself raises a confusion of thoughts. Relentless, vicious, cunning, dedicated parent, devoted partner, survivor. Which adjectives does the word “wolf” conjure in your mind? Now, let’s try the same exercise using the word “spider.” Chances are, any positive descriptors disappear. Combine the two words and we’re talking something creepy, shadowy, and sinister—a lurid assassin! To make matters worse, the wolf spider’s markings and movements create a nightmare for every arachnophobe on the planet. Fear, of course, is what happens when you’re enjoying dinner with your family and a spider the size of a half-dollar races across the floor and under the table. Even more terrifying, you wake in the middle of the night to find a large, hairy spider sharing your bed or resting on your neck. Yikes!
Wolf spiders get a bad rap. They are not insects. They belong to the order arachnid. Of the eleven orders of arachnid, spiders are just one; others include scorpions and ticks (to name a couple of the cuddliest). The origin of spiders is based on the Greek myth of a young lady named Arachne who was an accomplished weaver. Seems Arachne got a big head and boasted that her exceptional weaving skill could rival that of the goddess Athena. When Athena got wind of Arachne’s bragging, she quickly transformed her into a spider as punishment.
Whether they realize it or not, most everyone has seen a wolf spider. Many types look similar, varying mostly in color or size (some people even confuse them with tarantulas). Wolf spiders all tend to have thick bodies with long legs, and copious hair. Females are larger than males. Mouth appendages are enormous, packing a nasty bite. Colors range from black to brown to gray, many with tan or light orange markings. Texas is home to the largest wolf spider species, the Carolina wolf spider, which can measure up to 1.4 inches long. Astonishingly, there are over 2,800 species of wolf spiders in 124 genera. There are 238 species found in America, north of Mexico.
Wolf spiders are different, and their apples fall quite far from the typical spider tree. The first departure is that wolf spiders don’t weave webs. They’re combat spiders…. they go out and kill stuff! It’s this hunting instinct, combined with wicked quickness, that derives their name. Rather than waiting patiently in a web for prey to be captured, wolf spiders hunt down their meals on the ground—commonly at night—like werewolves. They eat all kinds of insects: ants, flies, earwigs, roaches, crickets, grasshoppers, centipedes, and millipedes. They love insect eggs too. If they’re especially hungry wolf spiders will even attack small reptiles and amphibians.
Another quirk is that wolf spiders leave a trail of silk when they walk. It’s like an incontinence problem they can’t help. These draglines carry a scent which helps other wolf spiders find them. When a male spider encounters the silk line of a female, and it’s the right season, he may follow it looking to score (the original pick-up line?). If you see silk lines in the grass it means there’s probably more than one wolf spider in the vicinity. Try dropping a bucket of soapy water on the area and see what happens. You’ll likely flush all sorts of wolf spiders from their lair to the surface. We used to find wolf spiders at night by shining a flashlight into the grass. We’d locate an astonishing number of little spider eyes shining back at us.
Here’s another anomaly: in mid-summer females can frequently be seen carrying egg sacks (and eventually their brood) on their backs. This extra parental care allows the female to regulate temperature of her eggs and young, but it also offers protection to tiny babies. Initially white, egg sacks turn dark brown at maturity. Newly hatched spiders remain with their mom until they are about a month old when they disperse to hunt for themselves. If you are easily creeped out, don’t watch this video: https://www.abchomeandcommercial.com/blog/wolf-spider-texas/
Wolf spider sex can also be different. It’s particularly perilous for guys. Not only does he have to make the first move, but he also has to win her over by moving the short, sensory appendages near his mouth in particular patterns to show his interest. Being larger, she always has the last say. Aggressive in nature, she may accept his advances or push him away. Like the infamous black widow spider, she may also kill and eat him after sex!
It gets weirder. With eight eyes in three rows, wolf spiders carry an array that rivals the offroad spotlights on any Texas pickup truck. The bottom row just above the mouth has four small eyes. Above that are the two main eyes, larger than the other six (Darth Vader larger). Finally, the top row has two smaller eyes set far to either side of this most unusual face. Wolf spiders have near perfect eyesight—chances of surprising one fall between slim and none.
As a final variance from other spiders, wolf spiders suffer when it rains. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati published a study in the Journal of Insect Behavior showing that wolf spiders can’t signal others or perceive danger from predators as easily on rain-soaked leaves compared to dry ones. You see, drumming on dry leaves is a common way to communicate vibratory signals for courtship. While they don’t have ears, wolf spiders sense sound in vibrations picked up by specialized sense organs in their eight legs. Wolf spiders are especially attuned to the calls of predatory birds and the study found that drumming male spiders become motionless and “freeze” when a blue jay calls nearby. And they stay frozen longer on dry leaves than wet ones because vibrations from sound don’t carry as well in wet leaves. Rain makes them vulnerable.
Wolf spiders are everywhere in Texas, although they favor drier, sandier areas. You can find them in your garden, tall grass, or dark nooks throughout the house. Here’s a few of the more common ones you might want to recognize:
Genus Rabidosa
This genus includes the Texas rabid wolf spider (no, they do NOT carry rabies). It’s one of the most common groups of wolf spiders in Texas. Typically, you’ll find them in eastern and central Texas. It’s sometimes known as a wandering spider. Other Rabidosa spiders that live in Texas include the Rabidosa punctulate (dotted wolf spider), and the Rabidosa hentzi.
Genus Hogna
These are the largest wolf spiders in the whole family. Texas is home to nine species of genus Hogna spiders and they range in color from dark brown to light gray, with females usually being darker than males. The largest of the Hogna species is the Hogna carolinensis (Carolina wolf spider). Some folks refer to it as the giant wolf spider. Another common Texas species is the Hogna helluo, slightly smaller than the Carolina wolf spider.
Other Wolf Spiders
Several members of the Geolycosa genus, or burrowing wolf spiders, exist in Texas, including the Geolycosa fatifera and Geolycosa missouriensis. Burrowing wolf spiders need sandy soil in which to live and make their burrows. Unlike other types of wolf spiders that hunt down their food, the burrowing wolf spider waits for its prey to walk by and then ambushes it. These gray spiders have bodies about an inch in length. There are other wolf spiders in Texas, including the genera Schizocosa and Pirata, but they tend to be smaller than their Hogna, Geolycosa and Rabidosa cousins.
As fearsome as they sound, wolf spiders do have enemies. Owls find them particularly tasty, and so do various lizards and rodents. Predators need to be bold and decisive though, as wolf spiders can be hard to keep ahold of. They can detach their legs to escape and then grow new ones over time. Also, because wolf spiders have powerful jaws, they can bite back with vengeance. You may be thinking, what about people bites? Unless you purposely go out of your way to piss one off, a bite is highly unlikely. Despite being venomous with large mouth appendages, wolf spiders rarely bite unless directly threatened. In any case, human bites are not fatal except in the case of an allergic reaction. The wolf spider’s venom simply isn’t powerful enough to do more than raise mild swelling and redness at the site. Hurts like hell, though.
No amount of facts will ever prevent an arachnophobe from going berserk at the sight of a wolf spider. But hopefully what I’ve presented here will help mitigate some of the view that “the only good spider is a dead spider.” It’s not like I’m asking you to take a spider to lunch. If only we could just learn to live with wolf spiders (and, more importantly, let them live), we couldn’t ask for better neighbors. Having a yard full of wolf spiders will keep down those household insect pests cheaper than the Orkin man. Just saying.
By Larry Gfeller