THE INSECTLIBRARY FIELD GUIDES

Wolf SpiderIdentification, facts & practical guidance

Wolf spiders are ground-hunting spiders in Lycosidae. They usually catch prey without a prey-catching web, and their eye pattern is more useful than their brown color.

Compiled by the InsectLibrary Team · Updated 2026-09-30 · Editorial policy

Identification and lookalikes

Tigrosa annexa - Tigrosa annexano rights reserved. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/401511989

Look for two conspicuously large forward-facing eyes above a row of four smaller eyes. Grass spiders have obvious projecting spinnerets and usually occupy a sheet web with a funnel. Fishing spiders can also look similar, so record the eyes and body from more than one angle.

Egg sacs, babies and hunting

A female wolf spider usually carries her egg sac attached behind her abdomen. Newly emerged spiderlings ride on her back. Different species occupy leaf litter, grass, shorelines and other ground habitats; one species does not represent the whole family.

What to do next

Observe without handling. Photograph the eye arrangement and note where it was found. A wolf spider in a house may be a wandering individual; it is not evidence by itself of an established infestation.

Wolf Spider: species profiles

Explore 151 species profiles covered by this guide, with recorded names and available photos.

Tigrosa annexa

no rights reserved

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Koch's Wolf Spider

Alopecosa kochi

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Sand Bear Spider

Arctosa perita

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Schizocosa maxima

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Varacosa shenandoa

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Ubiquitous Thin-legged Wolf Spider

Pardosa xerampelina

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Groenland Wolf Spider

Pardosa groenlandica

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Allocosa absoluta

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Marx pirate spider

Trebacosa marxi

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Piratula minuta

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Geolycosa gosoga

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Geolycosa turricola

Showing 12 of 151 species. Browse all in Araneae →

Sources and further reading

mdc.mo.gov - wolf spidershttps://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/wolf-spiders

References support the subject discussed here; they do not certify every imported directory record. Regional sources describe their own locations. Read our source and correction policy.