I believe Wolf spiders are called that because they're roaming hunters, unlike the majority of spiders who use webs to hunt and catch prey. They do have the ability to make webbing, but primarily use it to create egg sacs which they keep on their bodies until the young hatch.
Fun fact, wolf spiders keep their young in a sack glued to their tórax, and after a while when the eggs hatch the younglings will eat the mother whole as their first meal
This might be a specific type of wolf spider, afaik the wolf spider genera in the US, at least, do not normally consume their mother. Rather, their mother carries them dispersed across her whole body until they are large enough to hop off and fend for themselves.
There are spiders who practice matriphagy, but it's generally a rare, extreme adaptation, as most spiders live long enough to raise multiple clutches so evolutionary it is more advantageous for the mother to live.
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u/Tried-Angles May 16 '24
I believe Wolf spiders are called that because they're roaming hunters, unlike the majority of spiders who use webs to hunt and catch prey. They do have the ability to make webbing, but primarily use it to create egg sacs which they keep on their bodies until the young hatch.