--- title: "Carolina Wolf Spider (Hogna carolinensis) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "A web-free night hunter that grinds up frogs and carries its babies on its back." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/carolina-wolf-spider-1.webp" published: "2026-10-11" updated: "2026-10-11" --- # Carolina Wolf Spider (*Hogna carolinensis*) > **Status**: Checked against 5 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: A web-free night hunter that grinds up frogs and carries its babies on its back. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: 90s Grunge & Alt-Rock // Pixies, "Gigantic" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/5G2g1EbEtFSMkMbAnhl7FV) > **Vibe Match**: It spins no web, and its hunting style is called sit and pursue. Gigantic runs on the Pixies' quiet verse and loud chorus: it sits still, then it charges. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Hogna carolinensis* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Not Evaluated ([IUCN Red List](https://www.iucnredlist.org/)) - **Superpower**: Carries its spiderlings on its back, and those that stay with her learn mazes better - **Habitat**: Native to the continental US and Mexico; females live in burrows until they breed - **Diet**: Frogs among its prey, ground into small pieces - **Tags**: arachnid, burrower, predator, nocturnal ## Natural History & Behavior ## Night hunter, no web The Carolina wolf spider (*Hogna carolinensis*) is native to the continental US and Mexico. It is nocturnal, which means active at night, and one team collected adults in Oklahoma between 9 pm and midnight. This species does not form webs. Its hunting style is called "sit and pursue". ## Ground into small pieces Frogs are on its menu. When a spider eats, it chews: Carolina wolf spiders feed by mastication, grinding their prey into small pieces. In a lab trial, a spider that finished a meal discarded a small ball of chewed prey. Prey remains are mostly exoskeleton, which spiders cannot digest. > **Fat stays on the plate** > Spiders extracted essentially none of the lipids present in frogs and most of the lipids present in crickets. Lipids are fats. Frogs and crickets held similar masses of them, yet the spiders took over 75% of the fat in crickets and almost none in frogs. The study's authors could not say whether the spiders were unable or unwilling to take it. Frogs paid off another way, though: spiders took in about three times as much lean tissue, the part left once fat is removed, from frogs as from crickets. ## Two grams, one to three years Adult females in an Oklahoma study averaged 26.05 mm in length and 1,973.5 mg, just under 2 g. Females are the heavier sex. They are estimated to live two to three years and use burrows until they reproduce, while a male lasts about a year. A spider grows by shedding its skin, and each stage between molts is an instar. One lab-reared female was followed to adulthood and reached it at her twelfth instar. ## Babies on board A mother carries her young. Spiderlings leave the egg sac and climb onto the top of her abdomen, where they stay until their yolk supply is used up, 5 days. They disperse on day 6. Early contact seems to matter. At 16 days old, spiderlings kept with their mother and siblings were more efficient at capturing moving crickets than spiderlings raised alone. They also made significantly fewer blind alley errors in a maze. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How long do Carolina wolf spiders live? A 2025 study estimates two to three years for females and about one year for males, citing earlier work. *(Source: [Herzog, Reeves & Wilder 2025]())* ### Which sex is bigger? Females. In a 2025 study of wild-caught adults, they were on average 42.3% heavier in wet mass and 37.1% heavier in dry mass than males, with carapaces (the hard top shield of the front body) 8.5% wider. *(Source: [Herzog, Reeves & Wilder 2025]())* ### Do Carolina wolf spiders eat frogs? They have been seen doing it. A 2025 study cites reports of this species eating frogs, and its own spiders fed on Blanchard's cricket frogs in the lab. *(Source: [Hunsucker et al. 2025]())* ## Sources 1. [Hunsucker et al. (2025). Comparing Nutrient Intake by Wolf Spiders (Hogna carolinensis) Consuming Frogs (Acris blanchardi) and Crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus). Ecology and Evolution.]() 2. [Herzog, Reeves & Wilder (2025). Testing for Differences in Consumer-Based Nutrient Cycling Between Male and Female Wolf Spiders (Hogna carolinensis). Ecology and Evolution.]() 3. [Alfaro, Griswold & Miller (2018). Comparative spigot ontogeny across the spider tree of life. PeerJ.]() 4. [Punzo & Ludwig (2002). Contact with maternal parent and siblings affects hunting behavior, learning, and central nervous system development in spiderlings of Hogna carolinensis (Araeneae: Lycosidae). Animal Cognition.]() 5. [Hogna carolinensis (Walckenaer, 1805), Taxonomic Serial No. 857994. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).]() *Published October 11, 2026. Last updated October 11, 2026.* ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/carolina-wolf-spider/#article", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://animaltracks.wiki/#website" }, "headline": "Carolina Wolf Spider (Hogna carolinensis) | AnimalTracks.wiki", "description": "A web-free night hunter that grinds up frogs and carries its babies on its back.", "image": [ "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/carolina-wolf-spider-1.webp" ], "datePublished": "2026-10-11", "dateModified": "2026-10-11", "author": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "AnimalTracks.wiki Editorial Team", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki" } ], "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://animaltracks.wiki/#organization", "name": "AnimalTracks.wiki", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/icon-512.png" } }, "mainEntityOfPage": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/carolina-wolf-spider/", "citation": [ { "@type": "ScholarlyArticle", "name": "Comparing Nutrient Intake by Wolf Spiders (Hogna carolinensis) Consuming Frogs (Acris blanchardi) and Crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus)", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71045", "author": "Hunsucker et al.", "datePublished": "2025", "isPartOf": { "@type": "Periodical", "name": "Ecology and Evolution" }, "identifier": "doi:10.1002/ece3.71045" }, { "@type": "ScholarlyArticle", "name": "Testing for Differences in Consumer-Based Nutrient Cycling Between Male and Female Wolf Spiders (Hogna carolinensis)", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72640", "author": "Herzog, Reeves & Wilder", "datePublished": "2025", "isPartOf": { "@type": "Periodical", "name": "Ecology and Evolution" }, "identifier": "doi:10.1002/ece3.72640" }, { "@type": "ScholarlyArticle", "name": "Comparative spigot ontogeny across the spider tree of life", "url": "https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4233", "author": "Alfaro, Griswold & Miller", "datePublished": "2018", "isPartOf": { "@type": "Periodical", "name": "PeerJ" }, "identifier": "doi:10.7717/peerj.4233" }, { "@type": "ScholarlyArticle", "name": "Contact with maternal parent and siblings affects hunting behavior, learning, and central nervous system development in spiderlings of Hogna carolinensis (Araeneae: Lycosidae)", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-002-0128-9", "author": "Punzo & Ludwig", "datePublished": "2002", "isPartOf": { "@type": "Periodical", "name": "Animal Cognition" }, "identifier": "doi:10.1007/s10071-002-0128-9" }, { "@type": "CreativeWork", "name": "Hogna carolinensis (Walckenaer, 1805), Taxonomic Serial No. 857994", "url": "https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=857994", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)" } } ], "about": { "@type": "Taxon", "name": "Carolina Wolf Spider", "scientificName": "Hogna carolinensis", "description": "Carries its spiderlings on its back, and those that stay with her learn mazes better" } }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/carolina-wolf-spider/#faq", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "How long do Carolina wolf spiders live?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "A 2025 study estimates two to three years for females and about one year for males, citing earlier work.", "citation": { "@type": "ScholarlyArticle", "name": "Testing for Differences in Consumer-Based Nutrient Cycling Between Male and Female Wolf Spiders (Hogna carolinensis)", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72640", "author": "Herzog, Reeves & Wilder", "datePublished": "2025", "isPartOf": { "@type": "Periodical", "name": "Ecology and Evolution" }, "identifier": "doi:10.1002/ece3.72640" } } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which sex is bigger?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Females. In a 2025 study of wild-caught adults, they were on average 42.3% heavier in wet mass and 37.1% heavier in dry mass than males, with carapaces (the hard top shield of the front body) 8.5% wider.", "citation": { "@type": "ScholarlyArticle", "name": "Testing for Differences in Consumer-Based Nutrient Cycling Between Male and Female Wolf Spiders (Hogna carolinensis)", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72640", "author": "Herzog, Reeves & Wilder", "datePublished": "2025", "isPartOf": { "@type": "Periodical", "name": "Ecology and Evolution" }, "identifier": "doi:10.1002/ece3.72640" } } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do Carolina wolf spiders eat frogs?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "They have been seen doing it. A 2025 study cites reports of this species eating frogs, and its own spiders fed on Blanchard's cricket frogs in the lab.", "citation": { "@type": "ScholarlyArticle", "name": "Comparing Nutrient Intake by Wolf Spiders (Hogna carolinensis) Consuming Frogs (Acris blanchardi) and Crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus)", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71045", "author": "Hunsucker et al.", "datePublished": "2025", "isPartOf": { "@type": "Periodical", "name": "Ecology and Evolution" }, "identifier": "doi:10.1002/ece3.71045" } } } ] }, { "@type": "MusicRecording", "name": "Gigantic", "byArtist": { "@type": "MusicGroup", "name": "Pixies" }, "genre": "90s Grunge & Alt-Rock", "url": "https://open.spotify.com/track/5G2g1EbEtFSMkMbAnhl7FV" } ] } ```