Wolf Spider

The wolf spider is typically found in suburban areas of Australia and is commonly known as the garden wolf spider. The wolf spider is a wanderer and from time to time it builds small burrows - else it resides in the open vegetation. They are robust and agile hunters, and have good eyesight. They live mostly solitary lives and hunt alone. Some are opportunistic wanderer hunters, pouncing upon prey as they find it or chasing it over short distances. Others lie in wait for passing prey, often from or near the mouth of a burrow. Wolf spiders are unique in carrying their eggs along with them in a round silken globe, or egg sac, which they attach to the spinneret's at the end of their abdomen. The abdomen must be held in a raised position to keep the egg case from dragging on the ground, but they are still capable of hunting while so encumbered. Also unique among wolf spiders is their method of infant care. Immediately after the little spiders hatch and emerge from their protective silken case they clamber up their mother's legs and all crowd onto her abdomen. Their eyes reflect light well, and one way of finding them is to hunt at night using a flashlight strapped to one's forehead so that the light from the flashlight is reflected from their eyes directly back toward its source.

Because they depend on camouflage for protection, they do not have the flashy appearance of some other kinds of spiders. In general their colouration is appropriate to their favourite habitat. They are nearly solid dark brown. They range in size from less than 1 to 30 millimetres.

Wolf spiders may or may not be aggressive but will inject venom freely if continually provoked. Though usually considered harmless to humans, the bite of some species may be painful. For healthy people a bite from a wolf spider isn't deadly. A bite causes local itching, swelling and dizziness. For security reasons it is the best to seek medical treatment following a bite from Wolf Spider. It's not only the venom that matters - a bite from a spider is often followed by a bacterial infection which can be more dangerous than the bite itself.