Tag: native arachnid

Scientific Name: Rabidosa rabida

Family: Lycosidae

Native Range: Eastern and Central United States, Pennsylvania

Size:  Female: 16 to 21 mm (0.63 – 0.83 in); Male: 11 to 12 mm (0.43 – 0.47 in)*

Active:

Color and Appearance: “The ground color is yellow, with brownish to black longitudinal stripes. In this species, the median dark band of the abdomen is broken and encloses lighter areas. The male has leg I dark brown or black. The venter is not spotted.”*

*From BugGuide.net (https://bugguide.net/node/view/26084)

Family: Lycosidae

Native Range: Worldwide, Pennsylvania

Size: Varies

Active:

Color and Appearance:

August 16, 2020: Wolf spiders are a common family of spiders in our area. I notice them most because they are devoted mothers. Females carry their egg sacks with them attached to their spinnerettes. Ian and I first became aware of wolf spiders while visiting our pool when he was four. We saw a brown spider with lots of tiny bumps on her back near one of the pool drains. When we got home, I Googled the image and discovered that she was a wolf spider with her babies riding on her back. Ian looked at the picture and said, “Look Mama! She was taking her babies to the pool, just like you take me.”