Wolf Spiders Galore!

[Paul Day]

Carolina Wolf Spider

When people e-mail me with a picture of what they claim to
be a Carolina Wolf Spider, most of the time it turns out to be some smaller wolf spider, or a large fishing spider (mostly Dolomedes teneberosus). So hereis a picture of a 4 inch, adult female Hogna carolinensis. This is a beaut! And it
IS the best true spider, I don¡¦t care what anyone says (hehe). They are the prettiest, and most ¡§intense¡¨ looking true spiders out there!

Hogna helluo (a wolf spider claimed to be a Carolina in a previous post) is a medium sized wolf spider common to the Eastern U.S. which can obtain a 2.5 inch legspan, and comes in several different color morphs. While it is certainly a wonderful find, you aint seen nothing yet until you¡¦ve come across a big Carolina! Another similar looking spider to Helluo is Hogna aspersa, which has the same stripe down the carapace, but is much darker, velvety looking, and has distinct ¡§tiger¡¨ banding on the legs, and I think can get slightly bigger. Hogna aspersa spiderlings can be quite beautifulƒº.

Now, back in the hobby, I see wolf spiders are still misunderstood by the average person and being misidentified by the masses. I was in a bug museum the other day and they had a Carolina Wolf Spider misidentified as a Rabid! I was shocked! Then I realized what a HUGE DORK I was¡K hehe. Don¡¦t worry, ¡§A Wolf In The Shadows¡¨ will be back in a different form in the next few months.

Pauly






Adult Female Hogna Carolinensis (Carolina Wolf Spider) (4 inch)





Adult Male Hogna Carolinensis (4 inch)... missing some legs cause it's an old one.







Female and a male Hogna helluo... female about 2 inches, the male is about 1.5 inches.





Hogna helluo female, rarer "greenish yellow" morph.This is a big one at 2.5 inches.





This is a Hogna aspersa, the "Tiger" wolf spider. Notice it's more intense black color, and plasticish rings around each legbase. It is a rarer and prettier spider than helluo. This one measures at 2.5 inches.





This is an H. aspersa, how Juv. and males look, which is very pretty. Note the tiger banding around the legs. This happens to be a spiderling from the previous female which grew up to be a male.


Anyway, enjoy your day. Hope this clears up some "Hogna carolinensis" problems.

Pauly

[Alex S.]

Great pics Paul. That Hogna aspersa is a beautiful species.

Alex S.

[Paul Day]

Thanks Alex, good to hear from you again!

Pauly

[Alex S.]

No problem. Glad to hear your back into arachnids.

Alex S.

[Valael]

I've got those Hogna helluos in abundence around here (Southern Illinois, near St. Louis).


How do you sex them, exactly? I've got two of them -- A big chunky one that looks just like the top one, an a smaller, skinnier one (No matter how much I feed it, it stays skinny) that looks just like the bottom version. Would the chunky one more than likey be female and the skinnier one be female?