Bug Wiki
Sticker of Spotted wolf spider
Bug card No. 1286 of 1,500

Spotted wolf spider

Pardosa amentata
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsSpidersGardens and meadows8 legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The spotted wolf spider is a small brown spider with darker spots. It does not make a web. Instead it runs after its prey and pounces, just like a little wolf.

Fun fact: spiders are not insects. Insects have six legs, spiders have eight. Everyone calls them bugs anyway!
Lives in
Central and northwestern Europe, in damp grassy places and gardens
Length
5 to 8 mm (0.2 to 0.31 in)
Top speed
about 1.6 km/h (0.99 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
What does it eat?
It hunts flies and other small insects on the ground.
For real!Photo of Spotted wolf spider
Picture by AfroBrazilian. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Spotted wolf spider about 8 mm long (0.31 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)
small enough to sit on your fingernailcould run across a dinner table in 2.2 secondsmoves 56 times its own body length every second

How big is Spotted wolf spider compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It has eight eyes. Four of them look forward, so it can see its prey very well.

2

The mother carries her eggs in a round silk ball tied under her body.

3

After hatching, the babies ride on their mother's back until they are big enough.

4

A boy waves his front feelers like a dance to say hello to a girl.

5

On sunny spring days it warms itself on patches of bare soil.

you asked

Most asked questions about Spotted wolf spider

?Does the spotted wolf spider make a web?

No. It hunts by running and jumping on its prey.

?Where can I find a spotted wolf spider?

In gardens, meadows and damp grassy places in Europe. In winter it sometimes comes into houses.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Pardosa amentata
Named by
Clerck
Group
Spiders
Family
Lycosidae
Classification
Arachnida > Araneae > Lycosidae
Lives on
Europe
Also known as
Wolf spider

Where the facts come from

  1. Pardosa amentata (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by AfroBrazilian. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

More from the same group: Spiders

Also at home here: Gardens and meadows