Mystery Bug Answers
Mystery Picture #49
| R. Bessin, University of Kentucky Entomology | K. Haynes & K. Yeargan, University of Kentucky Entomology |
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| Novice | Expert |
Novice
Wolf Spiders are excellent hunters and walk across the forest floor looking for insect prey to chase down and eat. Unlike many other spiders, they do not use webs. This photo shows a female with her babies riding on her back.
Expert
Instead of using a typical web to capture prey, adult females of the Bolas Spider swing a droplet of adhesive on a thread at flying insects. It is thought they attract their prey by producing chemicals that mimic the sex pheromone of particular moth species. Refer to the story in our "Insect Stories" section on "Bolas Spiders" for more information about this fascinating spider.
This page is maintained by Pat Dillon, Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky.
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