Spider Fur

Close up of wolf spider head (Lycosidae).

I’ve been playing around with extreme close ups.   It’s been fun!  In these pictures, you can really see the combination of “hair” types that give wolf spiders their furry, wolf-like appearance.  Vibrations of these hairs help the spiders sense the movement of their prey, while other hairs contain chemoreceptors that let them ‘taste’ airborne odors.  Meanwhile, the hairs on a female wolf spider’s abdomen also have special spines and knobs, to help her babies keep their grip while they ride in safety.

Close up of wolf spider abdomen.