Caught a wolf today! (aspersa?)

RzezniksRunAway

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 4, 2012
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308
And it's totally a male. I was clearing the garden of anything I could before the tiller killed everything. I couldn't catch all the grass spiders to move them (that would be impossible) but they were doing a good job of freaking out and running everywhere by themselves. *I* almost freaked out a little because they seemed to think I was the safe place to run, and there's definitely a limit to how many spiders I can have on my feet before I just can't handle it. This little dude was sitting under a piece of rotting wood, minding his own business. The wood had to go, so he's going to be moved to another part of the yard once the dangerous tiller is done.

Eventually I'll catch a female.

My...semi educated guess is aspersa? but I'm usually, if not always wrong. =)









 

Smokehound714

Arachnoking
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
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3,091
Try to get a ventral shot, that's generally the best way to ID most wolves.

the problem with wolf spiders, is juveniles from many different genera can be almost identical in appearance.

I've mis-identidied a few "alopecosa", which ended up molting into schizocosa.
 

RzezniksRunAway

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
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Dec 4, 2012
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308
Well, he's super irritated right now. I didn't put him out back yet, so I put him in a plastic bag and he really, really was not thrilled about that.









Only half the eyes, but the best shot of eye arrangement (if you mirror it, with your brain.)
 

Smokehound714

Arachnoking
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
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3,091
It looks immature, still (male wolf spiders develop palpal bulbs before maturity)..

However, from the looks of it, this is T. helluo Note the dark sternum, with obscure paleband in the middle, dark coxae, and the plain brown venter with scattered spots. I could be wrong, though.
 

RzezniksRunAway

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 4, 2012
Messages
308
Hmm. I think you might be right. He's a bit on the big side, everything I'm seeing says 10-12mm for T. helluo males, 16-18 for T. aspersa males, which is why I think I dismissed T. helluo initially. I might have a look around the yard later today and see if I can find a female to compare. Our yard isn't all that large, and it seems to be controlled by grass spiders and boat loads of generic "house" spiders.

I am going up to my Aunts house today for Easter, and she has a 100+ year old farm house with 5 outbuildings, a few foundations from old barns and lots of random objects to flip. Maybe I'll get lucky and find Hogna carolinensis. =) "I'm going to go look for spiders" is the answer to the completely annoying question of "So, when are you guys getting married/having babies?"
 
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