Spider-Wolves [1] [2] ( lat. Lycosidae, from other Greek λύκος - wolf) - a family of araneomorphic spiders from the Entelegynae series. The body sizes of the largest representatives exceed 30 mm [3] . There are 2367 species combined in 116 genera [4] .
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Content
Distribution and habitat
Distributed everywhere, with the exception of Antarctica . Most often they can be found in countries with a warm climate.
They live in grassy meadows , shrubs , among fallen leaves and under stones, and the most favorite places are places with a high degree of humidity - these are forests located near water sources. Some species, for example, representatives of the genus Pirata , live near water bodies and even know how to dive. In a very large concentration, they can be found on the earth litter and among the fallen leaves.
Description
Like other spiders, wolf spiders have a primitive body structure: the cephalothorax is mainly used for vision , food intake, respiration and performs a locomotor (motor) function, and the abdominal cavity carries all the internal organs of the spider. As the spider grows, molting occurs.
The lifespan of wolf spiders varies depending on the size of the species. Small species live for six months, those that are larger - from 2 years and longer. Fertilized females or young spiders overwinter.
When protected from predators, wolf spiders depend on their disguise. Almost all species merge with their habitat.
Wolf spiders are natural stabilizers of the number of insects , and therefore they are very important in the ecosystem .
The color is usually dark: brown, gray or black, but occasionally light spiders are also found. One can distinguish a male from a female by the following features: firstly, males are smaller than females, secondly, darker, thirdly, the forelimbs of males are more developed. The forelimbs are used by males not only for mating, but also to attract the attention of females.
Vision
Basically, the members of the family have exactly eight eyes , which are located in three rows: the first row (lower) consists of four small eyes, the second (middle) consists of two large eyes, and the third row (upper) consists of two eyes located on the sides and slightly higher than average eyes.
Vision for these spiders plays an important role. After all, with the help of only his wolf spiders, they detect prey, although the smell of these spiders is also well developed. It is believed that wolf spiders see their prey at a distance of 20 to 30 cm, but do not distinguish between shapes.
Behavior and lifestyle
Wolf spiders are lonely. They wander around their territory in search of food or live in minks, shrouded in a thick layer of cobwebs inside, leaving them at night to hunt for insects or other smaller spiders. Directly as traps, these spiders do not weave a web.
Nutrition
Wolf spiders prey mainly on beetles , but they also will not refuse to eat flies , smaller spiders, insect larvae and foot tails . Spiders living in minks hunt at night, but, sitting in a mink, are not averse to catch an insect running past. Stray species of these spiders, having overtaken prey, jump on the victim and holding their forelegs begin to eat it. Before jumping, the spider is insured by attaching a web to the place where the jump will be made.
Mating
Mating in species living in a temperate climate occurs in summer, and in tropical species - all year round.
Courtship of wolf spiders begins with the sending of signals by the male to attract the attention of the female . The male sways his forelimbs and quietly approaches his partner. If the male is interested in the female, she turns to the male, folds her front paws, along which the male will rise to his back, after which pairing occurs. The male introduces sperm into the female genitalia using the copulative organ, the cymbium , located on the tip of the male pedipalp . In order for the male to mate with the female, she helps him by turning her abdomen towards him.
After mating, the female searches for a secluded corner in which she weaves a cocoon in which she will lay eggs. After laying the eggs, the female wraps the cocoon in several more layers to give it a spherical appearance. This tangle of female will wear the next 2-3 weeks at the tip of the abdomen, where it will be firmly attached to the spinning organ.
Offspring Care
After a few weeks, the spiders begin to hatch. Feeling this, the female throws a ball and breaks it with chelicera . Hatched spiders are small copies of their mother. After hatching, the female takes the young animals to her abdomen and carries them until they are no longer able to get food on their own. A female can carry on her abdomen from forty spiders, as the species of the genus Pardosa do , to one hundred, as in the genus Lycosa . There can be so many spiders transported by the female that only her eyes will remain a free place.
Toxicity
Wolf spiders are calm predators, but if they are constantly disturbed, they can also bite. A spider bite is not at all dangerous, but can sometimes cause itching , redness, or short-term pain. However, the bites of tropical species of wolf spiders often cause prolonged pain, swelling, dizziness, rapid pulse and nausea. In this case, you must visit a doctor. Previously, some bites were attributed to several South American species, but further research has shown that the problems that actually occurred are the cause of the bites of members of other spider families. [5] Necrotic wounds have also been associated with Australian wolf spiders, but detailed research has also shown that bites of wolf spiders do not lead to such consequences. [6]
Wolf Spiders and humans
Since wolf spiders have some similarities with the poisonous hermit spiders from the Loxoscelidae family, they are killed. Sometimes wolf spiders wander into people's homes.
See also
- List of genera of wolf spiders
Notes
- ↑ Lange A. B. Subtype Chelicerata // Animal Life. Volume 3. Arthropods: trilobites, chelicerae, tracheal breathing. Onychophors / ed. M.S. Gilyarova , F.N. Pravdina, Ch. ed. V. E. Sokolov . - 2nd ed. - M.: Education, 1984. - S. 68. - 463 p.
- ↑ An annotated list of rare and endangered species of invertebrate animals, especially protected within Russia // 2003 * Russia * Red list of specially protected rare and endangered animals and plants. (2nd edition). Part 2. Invertebrate animals (Red Book Bulletin, 2/2004 (2008)) / rev. ed. V.E. Prisyazhnyuk. - M .: Laboratory of the Red Book of the All-Russian Research Institute of Nature Conservation , 2004 (2008). - S. 119. - 512 p. - ISBN 978-5-9243-0158-7 Full text
- ↑ Information about wolf spiders on the Australian Arachnological Society website. (English) (Retrieved November 24, 2010)
- ↑ Platnick, NI (2010). The number of modern genera and species of spiders . The world spider catalog, version 11.0. American Museum of Natural History. (English) (Retrieved November 24, 2010)
- ↑ Ribeiro LA, Jorge MT, Piesco RV, Nishioka SA, 1990. Wolf spider bites in Sao Paulo, Brazil: a clinical and epidemiological study of 515 cases. Toxicon 28: 715-717.
- ↑ Australian Wolf Spider Bites (Lycosidae): Clinical Effects and Influence of Species on Bite Circumstances - Clinical Toxicology
Links
- Tarantula // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- Article from the University of Kentucky
- Factors influencing escape behaviors of some wolf spiders
- The family of wolf spiders - on tarantul.su
- Arachnids - on pauko.ru