Happy Halloween from the Farm Spider!

This spring I had noticed a hole in the ground about the size of a quarter at the base of one of my plants. I would cover it up with dirt, but the next day it would always be back again! Finally, one day I saw movement…

It looked like a spider, but what on earth was going on with its back?? Upon closer inspection, I realized that its body was covered in tiny baby spiders (maybe I should have saved this post for Mother’s Day??)! Wow! My biologist sister identified it as a Wolf Spider, who carry their babies on their back, live in burrows in the ground, and hunt for their prey at night. There are 57 different species of Wolf Spiders in Ohio! But never fear—-Wolf Spiders are a farmer’s friend, hunting down insect pests, and keeping their distance from humans. They rarely will bite a human, and if they do, their venom is not harmful to us.

Halloween is a great reminder that sometimes things that seem scary at first may not be so frightening if you lean in, learn, and look a little closer! Happy Halloween!