Females are commonly about 9–15 mm long.
Fine-art photographic collection
Trochosa ruricola
A ground-hunting mother that carries her eggs from the spinnerets and then transports the entire brood on her back.
About this species
Rustic Wolf Spider
Trochosa ruricola(De Geer, 1778)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Trochosa ruricola is a robust wolf spider of damp ground and disturbed habitats. It hunts without a capture web, and females provide characteristic mobile care by carrying first an egg sac and then newly hatched spiderlings.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Araneae · Lycosidae · Trochosa
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
Europe and temperate Asia, with introduced populations in North America and several Atlantic islandsBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Europe and temperate Asia, with introduced populations in North America and several Atlantic islands
Grassland, gardens, field margins, damp woodland and disturbed ground.
Mainly nocturnal ground hunter, sheltering under debris or in shallow retreats.
Terrestrial insects and other small arthropods.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
The female remains an active hunter while an egg sac hangs from her spinnerets, carrying the developing brood wherever she moves.
After hatching, dozens of spiderlings climb onto the mother’s abdomen and ride as a living carpet until they disperse.
No prey-catching web is built: the spider relies on speed, vibration and eyesight to stalk prey across the ground after dark.