Wolf Spider from Virginia w/2 black front legs
Location: Dryden Va, in the heart of the Appalachian mountains
July 20, 2010 8:35 am
Hello Daniel, It is always nice to be able to send you a picture of a spider or insect that I need help identifying, you folks at Whats that Bug, are truly amazing.My husband found this big fellow about two inches from my foot as I sat at my computer desk this morning, he said ”Honey quick put your feet up,” I of course trusting he knows best put my feet up without asking any questions,and when I looked down to see what the fuss was about this fellow was there. Well to be honest,my first reaction was Kill it, Kill it,thats how I use to be,because of my fear,I wanted to kill every spider I seen.Since i’ve been visting your website these past 6 months,and after my weekend stay at a cabin about 6 months ago that was infested and swarmed with spiders,I have not only started to overcome my fear but I have realized that they are just as much God’s innocent little creatures,as a dog,cat,bird,fish,deer,or anything else in the world.Everything has a purpose, and every little insect,and spider contributes to our way of life.I wish that I was never raised to be so fearful of something honestly so innocent and amazing,and although I am a long way off,of letting a spider crawl in my hand or take a picture of one that is not in something I can put the lid back on real quick if he looks to jump or what have ya.But I am working on overcoming my fear and trying to be more tolerable of these amazing creatures.I really do thank you Daniel and your website for helping me realize how innocent most of these critters are,and how actually cruel it is just to kill for not a reason at all, whether it be a bug,spider,dog,or even a human.Every thing has that God given right to live and serve out its purpose,and nothing should be killed without a good reason for doing so.Anyway needless to say,of course I automatically recanted my statement,and told my husband,”oh no we cant kill the poor thing,catch it,i’ll snap a few pics to send to D aniel and we wil take it down to the barn to let it go.” Need less to say thats what we did,and he was let go without ever being harmed.He sure was a beauty,although I see this kind of spider around here all the time,I have never seen one with the two black front legs like this one has,he is one of the larger ones we have seen,but the largest one we seen was as big as your hand,and that thing hopped up as far as my husbands knee caps as he was trying to capture it to let it go.I regret not having my camera to snap a pic of that big daddy, I have never in my life seen a spider so big,but my other camera had recently been broke,and I had not got this one yet.Anyhow,sorry for writing a book here,just wanted to share with you how much your website has helped me in my inner quest to overcome my fears,again you guys are amazing, and if im not mistaken from the pictures I have seen on your site,this big guy is a wolf spider.If you can and you are not to busy,get back to me,and let me know,its always so nice to hear from you.I hope the pics are ok and you dont have any problem identifying. Have a wonderful day.P.S.The moth in the bowl with the spider was already attached to his foot when my hubby caught it,we didnt put a little moth in there to be killed,although I know its just natural and inevitable,its not my place to decide what moth lives or dies……
Tina Cochran
Male Rabid Wolf Spider
Hi Tina,
Thanks for providing us with such a long and introspective letter. We are happy that we learned some new information in researching your Wolf Spider. We believe that this is a male Rabid Wolf Spider, Rabidosa rabida, and BugGuide indicates: “The ground color is yellow, with brownish to black longitudinal stripes. In this species, the median dark band of the abdomen is broken and encloses lighter areas. The male has leg I dark brown or black. The venter is not spotted.“ BugGuide also has at least one image that supports the statement that “the male has leg 1 dark brown or black.”
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