Spider with young - Hogna

Wolf Spider

What a great set of images! Thanks for posting. This is maternal beauty is a wolf spider (with her brood in tow). :)

I would guess it is in the Hogna genus, based on the eyes and using this key. (When zooming in on the image, the width of the lowest (anterior) row of eyes looks wider than the upper row (posterior median).)

… Christopher Hunt, 14 September, 2005 - 12:08pm

Thank you,

and for link to key.

… Machele White, 14 September, 2005 - 12:47pm

Note about the key...

The key was specifically designed for the Black Rock Forest of SE New York State, so it's species listings are specific to that area, however, I have found it is good for getting down to some genera of the more common spiders (but it is not exhaustive). (The link I provided was explicitly for Lycosidae, but if you back up to here, it will provide you a key for several other families.)

… Christopher Hunt, 14 September, 2005 - 12:56pm

size,

is frondicola a smaller spider? This one was a good size, would that make it carolinensis?

… Machele White, 14 September, 2005 - 1:05pm

Frondicola vs. others species

Yes, from what I understand, H. frondicola is smaller (around 0.6 inches (body length, does not include leg length)), and is typically more of a northeastern spider.

Unfortunately, there are several other species (which are not listed in bugguide since we don't have confirmed images of them) that could match your spider, such as the Florida brown and yellow wolf spider (Hogna lenta), which is approximately 1", or the Hogna miami. [1]

The Carolina wolf spider (H. carolinensis) is the largest species of wolf spider in the US, with a body length of about 1 to 1.5 inches, so it depends on her size...

Maybe if one of our experts looks this over, they might be able to give you a specific ID... :)

… Christopher Hunt, 14 September, 2005 - 1:21pm

Thank you again,

for all your help.

… Machele White, 14 September, 2005 - 1:38pm

moved,

I moved this, not sure I did it right.

… Machele White, 15 September, 2005 - 8:15am