No, wolf spider babies do not eat their mother. This is a popular myth. A mother wolf spider carries her egg sac, then her babies, on her body, and the spiderlings leave her back after about one to two weeks. They live off their yolk reserves while they ride and start hunting on their own once they disperse.
How a Wolf Spider Mother Cares for Her Young
- She attaches a round silk egg sac to her spinnerets and drags it around behind her.
- When the eggs are ready to hatch, she tears the sac open with her fangs.
- The spiderlings climb onto her abdomen and cling to special hairs. A mother can carry anywhere from dozens to a couple hundred babies.
- After about a week or two, the babies drop off and spread out to hunt alone.
It is one of the best examples of spider parental care. The mother keeps hunting and protecting her brood, and the spiderlings do not harm her.
Where the Myth Comes From
A few spiders really do feed their offspring with their bodies. The behavior is called matriphagy. It has been documented in a few kinds of social spiders in Africa and Australia, where the young consume their mother after she has fed them with regurgitated fluid. Wolf spiders are not among them.
What Baby Wolf Spiders Eat
Once they have left the mother, wolf spiderlings hunt tiny prey on the ground, such as springtails, fruit flies, and mites. As they grow, they move up to small crickets, flies, ants, and other insects. Wolf spiders are active hunters and do not build webs to catch food.
Wolf Spiders Around Your Home
Wolf spiders are large, hairy, brown-gray spiders common in lawns and gardens. They have excellent eyesight, and their eyes reflect light, so they glow in a flashlight beam at night. They are often mistaken for brown recluses, but wolf spiders have eight eyes and no violin-shaped mark. They bite only if handled or trapped, and the bite is usually mild, like a bee sting. Seek medical advice if you have a strong reaction.
See also what spiderlings eat and what tiny spiders eat.
Bottom Line
Wolf spider babies do not eat their mother. She carries them on her back for a week or two, and then they head off to hunt small prey on their own.
This is general information, not medical advice.
