Some of the largest spiders encountered in Montana are wolf spiders…and when you see one carrying around a pea-sized “golf ball,” you take notice. Wolf spider mothers attach their egg sacs to their spinnerets (silk producing organs) and carry on with normal life. After the spiderlings emerge, they clamber onto their mother’s back and remain there for up to two weeks or more, until they are ready to be on their own. Wolf spiders are aptly named. They are fast, ground-dwelling hunters that chase down their prey. Many species live in burrows.
Size: 2.2 – 35.0 mm for family
Photos by: Lisa Ann Cloo on 7/30/22 in Clinton, MT
