Wolf Spider species Pardosa sp
There are quite some Wolf Spider species in Western Europe. They are all brownish spiders, that run about, often in considerable numbers. With spiders this is quite remarkable, for most can't stand one another. The fact that they often pack and their brownish colours gave them the name of Wolf Spider. In Western Europe there are some 100 species. It is not easy to identify them correctly. Especially the genus Pardosa, often found in gardens, has many look-a-likes. Many wolf spiders prove to be very good mothers: they put their eggs in a cocoon which they carry around till the young hatch! With some species the young even climb on their mother's back and are transported for one or two weeks that way.
Wolf Spiders have a very good eye sight. They need to see well, for they hunt in broad daylight. Males differ from females. They are smaller, darker and their palps have developed into big, often black fans, which they wave in front of the females. These choose the best looking ones to mate with. The male is in the bottom picture.
