Pardosa amentata, Wolf Spider

Common Name: Wolf Spider

Males of Pardosa amentata measure up to 5-6mm and the females up to 8mm in length. Dark grey or brown, sometimes almost black, usually with a pale stripe down the middle of the thorax and a pale band, often broken into dots, at each side.

A fast running, diurnal hunter, usually scurrying over the ground or low vegetation in search of flies and other small insects. The female carries her eggs in a lens-shaped silken parcel attached to her spinnerets, and can often be seen sun-bathing at this time. When the spiderlings hatch, they climb onto the female's back and are carried around for a while, gradually dropping off to make their own way in the world.

Male spiders can be sometimes seen signalling to the females by waving their black, clubbed palps. Adult in summer and autumn. Most open habitats with plenty of bare ground and some shelter and moisture; often found on garden rockeries. Common and widespread throughout the UK.

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