Halloween Friends

As people prepare to celebrate Halloween by decorating with images that are centered around fear and phobias, one common image is spiders. Here are some of my Wolf Spider (Hogna carolinensis) friends that live at our barn.

I have a couple of Wolf Spiders that hang out inside a water hose at the sink in the barn. I am reminded of the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" nursery rhyme whenever I open the water valve and spiders come running out.

I have a Wolf Spider that lives next to the door at the barn. This spider reminds me of a "Wal-Mart greeter" that always says hello when you enter.

Wolf Spiders are members of the family Lycosidae and can be identified by the orientation of their 8 eyes. A row of 4 small eyes above the mouth, then 2 larger eyes in the second row and the last 2 eyes in the third row on top of the forehead.

Wolf Spiders don't build webs and are primarily nocturnal hunters with keen night vision, much like wolves, which is where they get their name. Wolf Spiders prey upon small insects and have no interest in humans. They will not seek out interactions or attack you unless directly handled. Wolf spiders will bite if mishandled or trapped next to the skin. A Wolf Spider's bite is like that of a bee sting and will generally subside within 24 hours.