Ground wolf spider

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Description

Ground wolf spider is a medium-sized, thick-bodied, short-legged, wolf spider. It occurs in temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere, mostly in Europe and North America. It is common in Minnesota. It is found in deciduous woodlands and shady fields, mostly at woodland edges, on the ground in leaf litter and under logs and stones.

Females are 5⁄16″ to ½″ (8.2 to 11.8 mm) in length and have a ⅝″ to 13⁄16″ (15 to 30 mm) legspan. Males are smaller, ¼″ to ⅜″ (6.7 to 9.6 mm) in length.

The front part of the body (cephalothorax) is longer than wide. The upper side (carapace) of the cephalothorax is low, has a depression in the middle (fovea). It is relatively flat when viewed from the side, about the same height from the second (posterior) row of eyes to the rear. It is dark orangish-brown with a broad pale stripe in the middle and on each side a pale submarginal band. Within the median band there is a pair of short, dark, longitudinal streaks extending from behind the posterior row of eyes to the fovea. The presence of these stripes distinguishes this wolf spider as belonging to the genus Trochosa.

There are eight eyes in two rows of four. The front (anterior) row has four small eyes and is straight or slightly curved forward. The rear (posterior) row has two very large posterior median eyes (PME) and two large posterior lateral eyes (PLE). The PLE are set behind the PME, and some authors describe this arrangement as three rows of eyes. The rear row is about equal in width to the middle row. The PME are closer to the PLE than to each other. The PME and PLE have a layer of reflective tissue internally. This allows the spider to see in relative darkness. It also causes their eyes to shine when hit by the beam of a flashlight. The basal segments of the jaws (chelicerae) are large and powerful. The forward-facing margin has three teeth, the rear-facing margin has two or three teeth.

The abdomen is egg-shaped and is covered with short hairs. It is yellowish-orange at the base with extensive dark mottling. On the front half there is a pale oval mark (cardiac mark) in the middle that is partially outlined with dark brown.

The legs are short, stout, spiny, and sparsely hairy. They are pale yellowish-brown and mottled with dark brown but are not banded. The ends of the fifth segment (tibia), sixth segment (metatarsus), and seventh segment (tarsus) are brown.

Size

Female Body Length: 5⁄16″ to ½″ (8.2 to 11.8 mm)

Male Body Length: ¼″ to ⅜″ (6.7 to 9.6 mm)

Legspan: ⅝″ to 13⁄16″ (15 to 30 mm)

Web

None

Similar Species

Habitat

Deciduous woodlands and shady fields, mostly at woodland edges, on the ground in leaf litter and under logs and stones

Ecology

Foraging

Active hunter (Cursorial Hunter)

Ambush hunter (Sit-and-Wait)

Prey

Behavior

Life Cycle

Mating takes place in the spring. Adults mature in the fall.

Season

March to November

Distribution

Sources

24, 30, 82, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 6/6/2026).

Trochosa terricola Thorell, 1856 in GBIF Secretariat (2023). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org. Accessed 6/6/2026.

Brady, A. R. (1979). Nearctic species of the wolf spider genus Trochosa (Araneae: Lycosidae). Psyche: A Journal of Entomology, 86(2-3), 167–212. https://doi.org/10.1155/1979/46401