Why can wolf spider babies call their mom a ‘super mom’? Because she carries them on her back. All hundred of them. Here are the top facts about these fantastic mothers.
Wolf Spider Babies
Wolf spiders are unique in the way they take care of their juveniles. Many spiders lay hundreds of eggs, but most of them use protective covers woven from silk to hide unhatched eggs from the outside world. The female wolf spider takes a different approach – all her eggs are placed in a special sac, and the mom spider carries this sac with her at all times, everywhere it goes.
Is wolf spider egg sac heavy?
Carrying all a hundred eggs or so is not an easy task. To avoid dragging the egg sac on the ground, wolf spiders must keep their abdomen in a raised position which makes this process even more complicated. But surprisingly, the wolf spider is still able to hunt while burdened by this heavy ‘cargo’.
How does a wolf spider put all the young on its back?
It does not have to do this: right after hatching and emerging from the egg sac, wolf spider babies climb up their mother’s legs and ‘seat’ themselves on her back. In fact, the mom wolf spider even helps them to open the egg sac, if this is needed.
No other species of spiders carry their young on their backs.
Can wolf spider babies survive without their mom?
No, they cannot. That is why their mom has to carry juveniles on her back for several weeks until they grow up and are able to take care of themselves.
It sometimes happens that a single hatchling falls to the ground. If this happens, the mom wolf spider stops and waits until the baby climbs back on her top.
How many babies does a wolf spider have?
They can have approximately one hundred baby spiders, sometimes even more. After they all climb on the back of their parent, sometimes only mom’s eyes remain visible from below.
Where is the father wolf spider?
The female wolf spider is a single parent. Males leave right after mating – probably because if they do not do so, they risk getting eaten by the female. After mating, females also are likely to eat the next male that tries to approach them.
Males, however, do an important job. They can dig burrows. Females are not good diggers. After mating, the male leaves the burrow and even blocks the entrance from outside. Furthermore, to make it more secure, he even scatters some sand around the entrance to camouflage it.
The female emerges from the burrow about a month later, and then lays her eggs. They cannot dig burrows, so they need to mate again to obtain a new house. In this regard, males need to dig a new burrow if they want to create new mating opportunities.
Do wolf spider babies eat their mother?
Some spider species are known for matriphagy – when juvenile spiders eat their mothers. But this is not the case for wolf spiders, they do not eat their mother. They simply disperse when they reach the stage where they can survive on their own.
How big are wolf spiders?
Most species of wolf spiders have long thin legs. Females have larger bodies compared to males: on average, 5 to 7 mm compared to 4 to 6 mm in length. However, the largest wolf spider – H. carolinensis (Carolina wolf spider) – grows up to 2.5 cm (1 in) long (just the body, not including legs).
There are over 2,000 species of wolf spiders all over the world. Some of them are poisonous.
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