Bug card No. 2487 of 4,939

Lance wolf spider

Schizocosa avida

Eats: Other bugs and small animals SpidersGardens and meadows8 legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The lance wolf spider is a hunting spider that does not build a web. It runs after its food instead. Its round back end has a dark middle with a light border around it.

Fun fact: spiders are not insects. Insects have six legs, spiders have eight. Everyone calls them bugs anyway!

Lives in

North America, all over the United States and Canada, in open fields and prairies

Length

0.8 to 1.5 cm (0.31 to 0.59 in)

females are bigger than males

Top speed

about 2.2 km/h (1.4 mph)

On foot, estimate

Can it hurt you?

Can bite

Spiders are venomous! Read about spider venom on Venom Wiki →

What does it eat?

It hunts insects and other small creatures on the ground.

Photo of Lance wolf spider — Picture by Avery Wilson. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

as long as 2.5 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 1.6 secondsmoves 41 times its own body length every second

How big is Lance wolf spider compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)

Lance wolf spider about 2.2 km/h (1.4 mph)

A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)

A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

If something grabs its leg, it can let the leg drop off and run away.

It is most busy in spring and summer.

Females are 10 to 15 millimetres long, males only 8 to 11.

you asked

Most asked questions about Lance wolf spider

?Does the lance wolf spider make a web?

No. Wolf spiders hunt by running after their food.

For bug experts

Scientific name: Schizocosa avida
Group: Spiders
Family: Lycosidae
Classification: Arachnida > Araneae > Lycosidae
Lives on: North America

Where the facts come from

Schizocosa avida (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
Picture by Avery Wilson. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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