Spotted Wolf Spider and other wolf spiders

Wolf Spiders don't make webs, they run and chase prey. They hunt by sight in daylight and sometimes in bright artificial light. There are often more than one hunting in the same area and the name "Wolf Spider" was given in the mistaken belief that they hunted in packs. Female Wolf Spiders carry their silk egg sac around with them. When they hatch, they carry the spiderlings for a week.

The Spotted Wolf Spider is native to damp grasslands of NW and central Europe. The female is 8mm long (head/body) and the male 6mm, with annulated legs. They are garden friends, eating pests.

The Common Wolf Spider, P. pullata has plain (unringed) legs but is a very dark species. I do not know the species or even genus of the pretty, red-striped back wolf with her kingfisher blue egg sac. She looks a little like the Drumming Wolf, Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata, but even though she is in damp grassland, north London is not the right area of the UK for that species.

There are several species of Wolf Spider in the UK and Dr Geoff Oxford, author of "Britain's Spiders" (second edition published Sep 2020), stresses that "secure identification for the majority of Wolf spiders requires microscopic examination".