Florida True Spider with young - ID Help Please

[Vogelspinnen]

Hi All, I was taking my boy Arn (avatar photo) CH Surestaff Quarterback for his evening constitutional and as the true critter finder* he is ran straight over to this spider. I immediately yelled at him to freeze and he stood nose to chelicera with it. I quickly pushed him aside and ushered it into my hand to have a closer look, once inside I noticed a furry look to the abdomen which looked to be slightly moving. It's obviously a female carrying her young on her abdomen. I've been feeding her small crickets which she quickly devours. Some of the young have begun dispersing and do not have the ability to climb the container walls which is a good thing cause there's many. The adult has been stirred a few times buy the movement of the spiderlings and will remove her to a separate enclosure once all young have left her.

I'm not familiar with this spider and would appreciate ID help from all you True Spider enthusiasts.

* Arn had also helped me in the middle of the night locate a $3000.00 ball python that got loose in my house. It was hiding out somewhere and while moving through my home must have bumped into Arn while he was sleeping - he launched himself straight up into the air lading on me sleeping in bed. I was startled not knowing why he did this and after putting on the light he ran over to it as if to see what the heck was going on. He's a great dog and my best friend - definitely a keeper.

All The Best, Gabe

 

[xgrafcorex]

not sure exactly..but some kind of wolf spider i'd say. i found one down here in boca raton recently with very similar carapace. these things seem to mate a lot..the one i found has an egg sac..and when i was up in sebring, one randomly wandered by with a sac also.

http://www.floridanature.org/family.asp?family=Lycosidae

 

[lwbfl]

How big is this spider?

 

[Vogelspinnen]

Hi Guy's, xgrafcorex, lwbfl.

It's 1.5" in size.

All The Best, Gabe

 

[padkison]

Looks like it is a wolf spider in the genus Hogna. I have a Hogna carolinensis which can be identified in part by being black in the ventral abdomen, sternum and coxae.

I believe Todd Gearhart of tarantulaspiders.com in FL field collects wolf spiders for sale and may be able to id this for you.

 

[billopelma]

Not sure what it is but I found a similar type some years ago in my yard up here in massachusetts. The pic quality is not too good as it is a scan of a film photo.

Bill

 

[lwbfl]

I've only seen one of those wolf spiders around here, and it scared me half to death. It was so big I was tempted to get my gun! And I'm not afraid of any bugs, snakes, animals, but this was the biggest spider I had ever seen running around!

 

[Vogelspinnen]

Separating/vialing young

Hi all, I was wrong about the spiderlings not being able to climb as they're all up at the top of the container and because they're so small even into the edge of the lid. Good thing I used a container without holes and a mesh covered lid. I'm used to vialing Tarantulas guessing it to be the same although these look like they're really going to bolt as soon as I take the lid off. Any input would be appreciated.

All The Best, Gabe

 

[xenesthis]

IDs and collecting wolf spider species in FL

Gabe's wolf spider is Lycoa miami. Bill's is a Rabidosa spp. L. miami gets a 2.5"-2 3.4" legspan and is our most common wolf spider species in FL. They like pine/flatwood habitats.

I just got in one of the more rare species, Rabidosa rabida. They get a 2.5"-2 3/4" legspan, are much darker than L. miami with lots of nice patterns/markings.

Our most common Rabidosa spp. in FL is R. hentzi. For serious wolf spider collectors or researchers, I can collect you properly identified species with locality info if you need larger numbers (12+).

Todd

 

[John Apple]

Hey Gabe
They climb so they can 'balloon' away and scatter. Even though the container is smooth, the imperfections are small enough for baby wolves.
when you take the lid off they will most likely go everywhere with a few staying back, the law of averages here.
no plug here