Need info for mating carolina wolf spiders

Good Morning! I am a college student studying to become a science teacher. For one of my courses I was selected to keep wolf spiders. I ordered seven carolina wolf spiders. I now have 3 left, 1 male and 2 females. The largest female is in a 15 gallon tank my herself. The other 2 a male, and a female, that has just molted, is in another 15 gallon tank. I love the spiders they are so interesting.

I would like to be able to see the mating and reproduction process for myself and also so that I may document it for my class. I had read that the females only mate after they finish molting and become adults. How do I know if the female sharing the tank with my male is mature enough to mate?

I had also read that when the female is ready that she has a chemical that she produces in her web. I have noticed that my solitary female is laying a lot on web along the sides of her tank on the ground.

I do not want to lose my one male by placing him in the tank with the larger female if she is not ready. I really would like to get spiderlings!

Could someone please give me some guidance on getting my spiders to mate.

Thanks!
Janne
Houston, Texas

Contributed by jelanzoni on 6 March, 2009 - 8:28am

Brown chicken brown cow...

Yes, only the adults are physically capable of mating.

Both adult and penultimate instar males will have swollen palps, so you will need to look closely to determine that your male is fully developed. For most males I've worked with the palps will become darker and covered with more hair after their molt to maturity. If in doubt, post a photo in ID Request.

To verify female maturity you need to check for the presense of an epigynum, or a sclerotized structure that covers the genital opening. I just uploaded a photo of a different Hogna sp. (not H. carolinensis) which shows exactly where the epigynum is located.

There are some articles worth reading:

Notes on the Courtship and Mating Habits of the Wolf Spider Lycosa helluo Walckenaer.
by A. J. Nappi
Available here. I can e-mail you this one if you don't have a login.

Pattern and Duration of Copulation in Wolf Spiders (Araneae, Lycosidae)
by Gail E. Stratton, Eileen A. Hebets, Patricia R. Miller and Gary L. Miller
Download from here

Habitat and Courtship Behavior of the Wolf Spider Schizocosa retrorsa (Banks) (Araneae, Lycosidae)
by Eileen A. Hebets, Gail E. Stratton, and Gary L. Miller
Download from here.

Observations on courtship and copulation of the wolf spider Rabidosa santrita (Araneae, Lycosidae)
by Christopher A. Brown p476
Download from here.

If at all possible you should record your successes or failures with a video camera. One or two people taking notes will likely miss a lot of observable data.

Good Luck! And let us know how it turns out, or if you have any questions.

… Jay Barnes, 9 March, 2009 - 2:37am

Mating Wolf Spiders

Wow, THANKS for the info! I have been searching for these kind of studies to help me with my spiders. I will send some pics. I already have some but I have just not had time to look at them yet. Again thanks for the info!

Janne

… jelanzoni, 9 March, 2009 - 7:02am

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