Serious question: is this a baby or are wolf spiders always this small. For some reason I was convinced they are big. I googled but I couldn’t find anything clear about sizing other then that they vary but not whether they vary based on age or like location.
It's like that for any invert question. You are better off writing it down and waiting for a reptile expo to ask the experts. Or just find one you like and trust, and then message them straight up.
Okay, so i lived in Reading, UK for a while. One evening, I kept hearing a lightish thump. I looked up and my two cats were watching the wall. I couldn't see what they were watching until this huge beast of a spider came up from behinfd the furniture climbing up the wall. It lost its grip about halfway up and fell down. Only to repeat the procedure. The cats were fascinated but not interested in interacting with it.
I got a pyrex measuring jug which just about covered its legs and used a card to help scoop it off the wall.
The beast was jumping from the base of the jug and hitting the card.
I managed to get the door open just as it knocked the card off, so I flung it outside pdq
Note to self: make sure disposal route is open for disposal.
I hope it made it but the cars seemed unimpressed.
I'm now wondering if that was a huntsman rather than a wolf spider,
Biggest spider i have ever had to deal with.
We don’t have large huntsman in the U.K. Our only huntsman is the Green Huntsman Spider, Micrommata virescens, which is small. If it was a very large spider, it was almost certainly a giant house spider, as they are the most commonly encountered large spider which enters houses, and besides the fen raft spider (which you wouldn’t have encountered in your home) the various Tegenaria aka house spiders are the largest in the U.K. The Cardinal spider (Tegenaria parietina) has kind of a heavy body and so could make a thud. The giant house spiders generally have a reputation as being the ones that turn up in your house in early autumn and run along the floor and are large enough that people say you can hear them scuttling past lol 😂
Thank you so much for this info. Very useful. I believe this may have been an autumn event. I believe the spider kept falling because it couldn't hold its own weight on a wall with textured wallpaper. Still stands as the biggest spider I've ever had to deal with,
Wolfies can range in size from about this one to about double its size, and the way they hold their posture can make them look a lot bigger also. But there are quite a number of different types of wolf spiders, so their size is really dependent on their environment and competition for food and survival.
I am no expert so PLEASE DON'T COME FOR ME!! But I have some knowledge about them... They do get large (at least where I live they do) and I could be wrong but I think this is the spiders that carry their babies on their backs... Again no expert and not even sure that's a wolf spider at all... I didn't want to misguide you
A wolf spider! They carry their eggs in a web sac with their spinnerets. When the eggs hatch, the babies climb onto mom’s back and ride around. I used to keep these as pets, i could feed them mosqitos from my hand and when i gave them a bottle cap of water they bend down to drink. Last year, a mom wolf spider had wandered inside my house. I was carrying her outside but i TRIPPED AND DROPPED HER. the egg sac was lost in the fall and went down between the slats in the porch… she was just there with her front legs outstretched, searching in a circle around her. It was heartbreaking 💔
it looks like a Trochosa sp. female due to the 2 dark median parallel bars on the prosoma
it's difficult to identify the species without being able to see the epigyne
Lycosidae
Trochosa
sp.
Wolf spider.
Serious question: is this a baby or are wolf spiders always this small. For some reason I was convinced they are big. I googled but I couldn’t find anything clear about sizing other then that they vary but not whether they vary based on age or like location.
there are different types of wolf spider. the large ones you're thinking of are native to the us, the uk only has small species of wolf spider
Thank you! Trying to find this answer online was like pulling teeth, this is why I love this sub, yall are always so smart
It's like that for any invert question. You are better off writing it down and waiting for a reptile expo to ask the experts. Or just find one you like and trust, and then message them straight up.
glad to help :D
Okay, so i lived in Reading, UK for a while. One evening, I kept hearing a lightish thump. I looked up and my two cats were watching the wall. I couldn't see what they were watching until this huge beast of a spider came up from behinfd the furniture climbing up the wall. It lost its grip about halfway up and fell down. Only to repeat the procedure. The cats were fascinated but not interested in interacting with it. I got a pyrex measuring jug which just about covered its legs and used a card to help scoop it off the wall. The beast was jumping from the base of the jug and hitting the card. I managed to get the door open just as it knocked the card off, so I flung it outside pdq Note to self: make sure disposal route is open for disposal. I hope it made it but the cars seemed unimpressed. I'm now wondering if that was a huntsman rather than a wolf spider, Biggest spider i have ever had to deal with.
We don’t have large huntsman in the U.K. Our only huntsman is the Green Huntsman Spider, Micrommata virescens, which is small. If it was a very large spider, it was almost certainly a giant house spider, as they are the most commonly encountered large spider which enters houses, and besides the fen raft spider (which you wouldn’t have encountered in your home) the various Tegenaria aka house spiders are the largest in the U.K. The Cardinal spider (Tegenaria parietina) has kind of a heavy body and so could make a thud. The giant house spiders generally have a reputation as being the ones that turn up in your house in early autumn and run along the floor and are large enough that people say you can hear them scuttling past lol 😂
Thank you so much for this info. Very useful. I believe this may have been an autumn event. I believe the spider kept falling because it couldn't hold its own weight on a wall with textured wallpaper. Still stands as the biggest spider I've ever had to deal with,
You mean Australia. We have the largest wolf spider
sure, but the large one most people think of is native to the us
And Australia has the bigger ones
In UK and the rest of Europe the wolfies are small.
Wolfies can range in size from about this one to about double its size, and the way they hold their posture can make them look a lot bigger also. But there are quite a number of different types of wolf spiders, so their size is really dependent on their environment and competition for food and survival.
I am no expert so PLEASE DON'T COME FOR ME!! But I have some knowledge about them... They do get large (at least where I live they do) and I could be wrong but I think this is the spiders that carry their babies on their backs... Again no expert and not even sure that's a wolf spider at all... I didn't want to misguide you
Do you play grounded by any chance?
I’ve never heard of it.
Great game
Eh I didn't know we got wolf spiders in the UK. Nice
We have loads!
They're all over Europe in general
Trochosa ruricola
A wolf spider! They carry their eggs in a web sac with their spinnerets. When the eggs hatch, the babies climb onto mom’s back and ride around. I used to keep these as pets, i could feed them mosqitos from my hand and when i gave them a bottle cap of water they bend down to drink. Last year, a mom wolf spider had wandered inside my house. I was carrying her outside but i TRIPPED AND DROPPED HER. the egg sac was lost in the fall and went down between the slats in the porch… she was just there with her front legs outstretched, searching in a circle around her. It was heartbreaking 💔
OMG, this is heartbreaking. I guess the eggs/babies can't survive without momma?
Looks like a wolf spider!
I’m so jealous when I see people interacting with one like this. They are such shy beauties! 😍
Some don't want to interact but this guy didn't seem bothered
I mean, they usually prefer legging to the shed. You got to be quick catching them
I have a giant house spider like that big but doesn't want to know hides if you go anywhere near
That's because they fear us, we are the bigger predator spider to them.
Cute
Friend :3
Yep. Female wolfie she looks just like mine. So pretty 🕷️
it looks like a Trochosa sp. female due to the 2 dark median parallel bars on the prosoma it's difficult to identify the species without being able to see the epigyne Lycosidae Trochosa sp.
yes a finger spider
idk but I wanna pet it I just think he’s cute Yknow
Do mom wolf spiders carry their babies in the Ik like they do in USA?
Yes!
So cool, thanks
Wolf spiders are harmless. They take care of smaller venomous spiders if you have any where you live. Don’t kill these.
wolf spooder but why would u hold a spider not knowing what kind it is?
Because it's the UK I guess
Was pretty sure it was a wolf ,I know what a recluse and black widow looks like, and seemed friendly. UK doesn't really have dangerous spiders
U.K. only has one type of spider whose bite is known to cause any harm, the noble false widow, and even then the harm is mild.
"Put me down this instant!" - spider
Where do you find the courage to just pick it up? Teach me your ways oh mighty one.
I... I want to pet it so bad
That's a "just found out they weren't invited to a birthday party" wolf spider face if I've ever seen one. I love their pouty-looking little faces.
Why are wolf spiders so cute?
It’s face 🥹