Sunday, July 14, 2013

Gravid Wolf Spider

From this Wolf Spider's distended abdomen, you can tell she is gravid (i.e. pregnant with eggs). Once the eggs have sufficiently developed (about 2 weeks after copulation), she will use her mate's sperm to fertilize them, and then will deposit them in a silken cocoon. She'll drag the egg sac around behind her for a week or so until the spiderlings hatch, whereupon she'll carry her young on her abdomen until they're able to feed themselves.

I believe this is a specimen of Tigrosa helluo or Schizocosa sp. She was sitting between the cross-ties, watching for prey.


References:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/zoology/insects-arachnids/spider8.htm
http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/arachnids/spiders/reproduction.htm
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?163071-Wolf-Spider-Egg-Sac

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