Family: Lycosidae, Wolf Spiders view all from this family

Description Male 3/4" (18-20 mm), female 7/8-1 3/8" (22-35 mm). Cephalothorax gray-brown. Abdomen may have darker stripe along midline. Female has sparse covering of gray hair; somewhat paler in male.

Food Insects.

Life Cycle Female digs a burrow 6-8" (150-203 mm) deep, often with a high rim around the entrance. Female often produces more than 1 egg sac, which gradually darkens from satiny white to earth color before spiderlings emerge. Female guards egg sacs in burrow but does not interfere with spiderlings as they emerge and disperse.

Habitat Open fields on the ground.

Range Throughout the United States and southern Canada.

Discussion The Carolina Wolf Spider is the largest wolf spider in North America. It hunts almost exclusively at night.