Skip to main content
Close

Wolf Spider

Lycosidae (poss.) Hogna sp.

Photo by John B.
Published on Project Noah
Zoom
NominateNominate for Wildlife Photograph of the Month
reportFlag Spotting

15.4561, 119.921

Field Notes

Description:

Lycosidae (poss.) Hogna sp. In my attempts to reach an identification of this spider, there are only two things I am certain of: 1. It is from the Family Lycosidae. The eye pattern confirms that - four small eyes in a straight line at the front of the cephalothorax (looking forward), two much larger eyes above the four small ones (also looking forward) and two more eyes roughly mid-sized, on top (looking upward). 2. It is clearly a female, for the obvious reason that it is carrying around an egg sack attached to its spinnerets. Wolf spiders are the only spiders which do this (according to Wikipedia). I don't feel too bad about being unable to identify this spider more completely, because even experts in this field are struggling slightly. I came across a scientific paper "Faunistic diversity and distribution of Wolf spiders (Lycosidae: Araneae) in Western and Northern Mindanao, Philippines" written by four leading academics Philip Noel O. Banaag, Olga M. Nuñeza, Aimee Lynn B. Dupo & Myla R. Santiago-Bautista (all teaching at Universities here in Phillipnes). In the opening remarks of their publication, they say: "Despite being one of the most abundant spider families in the world, wolf/lycosid spiders are poorly studied in the Philippines." Then, I saw some photos in https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47416Lycosidae/browse_photos. I think they looked just like my photos and were called Piratula minuta. The only obstacle to my using that ID for my spider is the fact that I can't find any confirmation of its presence here in Philippines. I also saw a Wolf Spider in a Project Noah spotting, not exactly like mine, but close and it seemed to me, at that point that the Genus Hogna was present in Philippines. https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/17681194. A further reference to Hogna being present in Philippines was H. bonifacioi & H. rizali, both described by Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 in Philippines, listed in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogna. So, I felt that this was more than enough confirmation that Hogna is present in Philippines. Now all I have to do is find the species name.

Habitat:

I spotted this ferocious looking little spider on the underside of a leaf in the vegetable plot, behind our house.

Notes:

PLEASE BE AWARE OF THIS IF YOU SEE A WOLF SPIDER:
"Venom toxicity - the bite of the Wolf Spider is poisonous but not lethal. Although non-aggressive, they bite freely if provoked and should be considered dangerous to humans. The bite may be very painful. First aid and medical attention should be sought as soon as possible, particularly as to children or the elderly." https://www.termite.com/spider-identification.html#wolf

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (2)

Hi mauna Kunzah, Thank you for your comment. John B.
Photographed
PublishedAugust 20, 2022

Accelerate our Mission to Photograph 
Every Species in the World!

Image
Butterflies icon

Wildlife Community

Wildlife Community

Join a worldwide community passionate about wildlife and nature!

Join Project Noah

Nature School

Nature School

Transform your green space into a curiosity-creating nature classroom!

Visit Nature School

Wildlife Game

Wildlife Game

Defend wildlife throughout the jungle in thrilling nature game!

Play Baboon