Blacktail Wolf Spider female with egg mass, Heeswijk-Dinther, Netherlands
A tiny wolf spider in the Pardosa genus. In this area, they are are numerous across the seasons, typically running on the forest floor, which is also how they hunt. The female with egg sac was supposedly heating up on this log.
Species in this genus are near-impossible to identify, but in this case I'm reasonably sure it is Pardosa lugubris. Not only is it statistically the most common throughout the country, there's a few keys matching well:
- Banded legs and palps
- Light brown underside
- Light brown stripe on Carapax (head section) that gets wider near the eyes
- Faint stripes on abdomen
Note that the below photo is a second individual found on the same log:
The Pardosa lugubris is a spider species, belonging to the wolf spiders (Lycosidae). It is one of the most famous types of wolf spiders. This spider is found also in the Netherlands. The spider often has a light brown thorax with a light middle stripe. The abdomen has light hair and legs are striped. The spider is often no larger than 1 cm.
