Rabidosa santrita

Ahh, he looks very much like Rabidosa rabida and from this angle I can see that the abdominal shape is similar too while the caudal patterning is a bit different. Are you certain that he is mature? I had a male that I thought was mature after the penultimate molt as the ends of his pedipalps were larger but they weren't full "boxing gloves" until the next molt and his front legs turned black as well. That might not be a characteristic of this species though.

@ErinM31 mature male for sure, he mated with one of my females

Rabida is actually the only rabidosa species that gets black forelegs. The rest get dark metatarsi, santrita males have a silvery iridescence that makes the dark bristles hard to see.

@Smokehound714 Thank you for the info! It's interesting to observe the similarities and many differences between the many species of wolf spiders!

I wish you success with the eggsac and spiderlings! I have found it difficult to get center dictionary just right for a successful eggsac but so far have gotten one from my Hogna lenta and the little ones are growing and seem to be doing well!

Have you much experience with rearing wolf spiders? I would appreciate any observations, advice or recommendations!

@ErinM31 because the slings can be so tiny, it can be difficult to rear them. i generally keep small groups in a container so they can cannibalize which ensures at least one will survive and molt, which will let it get big enough to accept something other than fruit flies. its sad to sacrifice them like that, but i cant just release them either.

while the female has her eggsac i remove her water cap and water her with a Q-tip so she doesnt dunk the sac and ruin it.