Wednesday 15 May
Guest Blog: Join Our SOS! Campaign to Help Polar Bears with Polar Bears International
Wolf spider (Pardosa amentata)
Wolf spider fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Wolf spider description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Arachnida |
| Order | Araneae |
| Family | Lycosidae |
| Genus | Pardosa (1) |
All wolf spiders are agile, fast-moving ground predators. This species is brownish in colour, and males are typically darker than females, with more distinct markings (3). Like all spiders they have four pairs of legs. In front of the walking legs there is also a pair of leg-like palps, which are used in males for sperm storage (4); in spotted wolf spider males, these palps are black and covered in dark hairs (3). On the head there are eight eyes arranged in three rows; the first row comprises four small eyes, the second contains two larger eyes and the third row has two medium-sized eyes (4).
More »
Top
Related species
Wolf spider biology
This wolf spider does not make a web, but hunts its prey during the day by sight, chasing insects and leaping on them.
Males reach maturity from spring to mid-summer and can be seen performing courtship displays to females on sunny days, waving the legs in a specific 'routine'. The female lays her eggs soon after mating and carries them around in a silk cocoon attached to her body by the spinnerets at the end of the abdomen. After hatching, the spiderlings cling to the female's body for around a week before they disperse (5).
TopWolf spider range
Common and widespread in Britain (1).
More »
Species with a similar range
|
You can view distribution information for this species at the National Biodiversity Network Gateway. |
Wolf spider habitat
This species is found in a wide range of habitats (3), and often in gardens (6).
More »
Top
Species found in a similar habitat
Wolf spider status
Widespread and very common (1).
TopWolf spider threats
This spider is not currently threatened.
TopWolf spider conservation
Conservation action has not been targeted at this species.
|
|
There may be further information about this species available via the National Biodiversity Network Gateway. |
Find out more
For more on British spiders see:
-
The British Arachnological Society:
http://www.britishspiders.org.uk
Authentication
Information authenticated by Dr Peter Merrett of the British Arachnological Society:
http://www.britishspiders.org.uk/index.html
Glossary
- Abdomen
- In arthropods (crustaceans, insects and arachnids) the abdomen is the hind region of the body, which is usually segmented to a degree (but usually not visibly in spiders). In crustacea (e.g. crabs) some of the limbs attach to the abdomen; in insects the limbs are attached to the thorax (the part of the body nearest to the head) and not the abdomen. In vertebrates the abdomen is the part of the body that contains the internal organs (except the heart and lungs).
- Cocoon
- A sheath of silk, which is spun around the pupae of some insects (a pupa is a stage in an insect's development, when huge changes occur that reorganise the larval form into the adult form. In butterflies the pupa is also called a chrysalis).
- Palps
- In invertebrates, palps are sensory appendages located near the mouth.
- Spinnerets
- Tube-like, movable silk handling structures found at the tip of the abdomen (the hind region of the body) in spiders. There are four pairs of these organs, but in most species there are fewer (usually three). The silk is produced by the silk organs as a liquid, which passes through the spinnerets and is put under tension until the silk becomes a solid thread.
References
-
National Biodiversity Network Species Dictionary (Jan 2003):
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nbn/ - Roberts, M. J (1993) The spiders of Great Britain and Ireland, part 1- text. Harley Books, Colchester.
- Roberts, M. J. (1995) Collins field guide- spiders of Britain and Northern Europe. Harper Collins Publishers, London.
- Cloudsley-Thomson, J.L. & Sankey, J (1961) Land Invertebrates. Methuen & Co Ltd., London.
- Peter Merrett (2003) Pers. comm.
- Nichols, D., Cooke, J., Whiteley, D. (1971) The Oxford Book of Invertebrates. Oxford University press, Oxford.
More »Related species
Sign up to our newsletter
Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.
Get involved
ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!
Monday 13 May
Sunday 12 May
X
Close
Close
Image credit
Female wolf spider carrying young on back
© Steve Hopkin / www.ardea.com
Ardea wildlife pets environment
35 Brodrick Road
Wandsworth Common
London
SW17 7DX
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 208 672 2067
Fax: +44 (0) 208 672 8787
ardea@ardea.co.uk
http://www.ardea.com
X
Close
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
X
Close
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
X
Close
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
- view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.