Wolf Spiders

I mentioned the benefits of having wolf spiders in the garden back in July. They will eat other small insect pests such as flies, mosquitoes, crickets and beetle larvae. They are our good friends.

Well, earlier in the summer, I think it was in July, I caught one with an egg sack. I thought it was a little early, but I haven't studied much on their life cycle until now.

Female wolf spiders can live for several years. When she lays her eggs in an egg sac, she keeps it with her and tends to it until her young have hatched.

Last week sometime Frank saw one on the porch and told me that it was covered with a million baby spiders and that we needed to get it off of the porch so the spiders wouldn't move into the house. I didn't know they carried their babies around on their backs! It was the neatest thing to see! Even though I was supposed to be getting it off the porch, I didn't want to squish anyone and the babies came off and were running everywhere.  For survival reasons, when the spider is threatened, the babies run off in all different directions. It was amazing to see!

The other day when I was digging up sweet potatoes, I was blessed with a close-up opportunity with another wolf spider. This time I didn't knock all of the babies off, but it was nice enough to come out from under the leaf so I could get even better pictures. 

I think this is just fascinating, and except for a few arachnophobes out there, I figure you will find it fascinating too.

Our world is full of such amazing wonders!

Until next time - Fern