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Rabid Wolf Spider

Dead Rabid Wolf Spider Top

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Rabidosa rabida

Holy Rabid Wolf Spider Carnage! This was a sad sad site indeed. But I promise – I didn’t kill it! I found him dead and dried up on my front porch last summer. But if he could have stretched his legs out he would have been impressive indeed.

Though I often mess up my sex identification, this one is a male due to his front legs being distinctly dark brown/black. Since females generally get even larger – his size was awesome. These gloriously large wolf spiders are found all over the eastern US and parts of the Midwest but haven’t really penetrated the western states. Like other wolf spiders, they do not spin webs to catch prey but rather are super excellent hunters. For that reason, they are great to have in the yard as they do a stellar job of controlling other insect populations. They will rarely enter your house – usually only if they are following a food source inside.

Rabid Wolf Spider Parenthood
Before comes babies, comes the fun part – reproduction. When a male spots a female to meet with he will move his front legs around in enticing ways and even make small noises to get her attention. After the magic happens the female will make a bright white silk egg sac for her brood. She’ll carry that egg sac around with her turning it dingy and brown. Once the bitties finally hatch she will carry them on her back for a few days before they scatter and make their own. 

So… Rabid = fear of waters & insanity & death fo’sure, right?!
Nope. In fact, these spiders are completely harmless to humans. They can bite you if you harass them, but the bite isn’t toxic. People fear the bite because of the size of the spider, but it really poses no threat. Interestingly enough the rabid wolf spider’s closest European relative, the Lycosa tarentula, once carried with it the crazy legend that if bitten the only possible way to survive is to dance the “wildly provocative tarentella” (an Italian dance). Ok, so maybe a bit of insanity – but awesome booty shakin’ craziness rather than encephalitic craziness!