Wolf Spider Mom

On this Mothers Day I thought I would post on a dutiful mother from arachnida. Below is a sequence of shots of a mother wolf spider with her offspring.

This first shot shows mommy on the go--running errands, getting things done (GTD). You'll note the egg sac hanging from her abdomen.

Photo source: Curtis Morton
















But that precious time between creating your egg sac and feeling your egg sac pulsate with hatching spiderlings is brief. Here she attacks the sac with her fangs to tear it open and release her little ones.


















Aw, she stopped a posed for the camera (this mommy is a captive spider, though that didn't stop her from increasing the wolf spider population). She has cast aside the now empty egg sac, and her babies have climbed aboard the Mommy Express.

















Here's a closer shot of Mother Wolf Spider filling the role of transportation as she shows off her domicile to her brood. I'm just glad this maternal drama didn't play itself out beneath my bed or on my pillow or in my box of cereal or beneath the toilet lid or in my car. . .