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11 Types of Wolf Spiders in Washington

11 types of wolf spiders have a verified observation record in Washington. The most frequently recorded are Rustic Wolf Spider, Koch's Wolf Spider and McCook's Split Wolf Spider. Here is the full list, ranked by how often each is reported on iNaturalist.

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11 types of wolf spiders have a verified observation record in Washington. The most frequently recorded are Rustic Wolf Spider, Koch's Wolf Spider and McCook's Split Wolf Spider. Here is the full list, ranked by how often each is reported on iNaturalist.

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Verified species, source iNaturalist

11 types of wolf spiders recorded in Washington

11 wolf spider species have a verified observation record in Washington, each with at least 10 confirmed sightings. The full list, ranked by how often each is recorded, is below.

2 of the 11 shown are recorded as introduced to Washington rather than native.

  • No openly licensed photo yet
    1

    Rustic Wolf Spider

    Trochosa ruricola

    720 recordsIntroduced
    Wikipedia
  • No openly licensed photo yet
    2

    Koch's Wolf Spider

    Alopecosa kochi

    232 records
    Wikipedia
  • No openly licensed photo yet
    3

    McCook's Split Wolf Spider

    Schizocosa mccooki

    101 records
    Wikipedia
  • No openly licensed photo yet
    4

    Vancouver Thin-legged Wolf Spider

    Pardosa vancouveri

    60 recordsNative
    Wikipedia
  • No openly licensed photo yet
    5

    Pirate Otter Spider

    Pirata piraticus

    41 recordsNative
    Wikipedia
  • No openly licensed photo yet
    6

    Sand Bear Spider

    Arctosa perita

    35 recordsIntroduced
    Wikipedia
  • No openly licensed photo yet
    7

    Shoreline Wolf Spider

    Arctosa littoralis

    15 records
    Wikipedia
  • No openly licensed photo yet
    8

    Melocosa fumosa

    Melocosa fumosa

    15 records
    Wikipedia
  • No openly licensed photo yet
    9

    Lowrie's Thin-legged Wolf Spider

    Pardosa lowriei

    12 recordsNative
    Wikipedia
  • No openly licensed photo yet
    10

    Ubiquitous Thin-legged Wolf Spider

    Pardosa xerampelina

    11 recordsNative
    Wikipedia
  • No openly licensed photo yet
    11

    Pardosa dorsuncata

    Pardosa dorsuncata

    10 recordsNative
    Wikipedia

Plus 16 more recorded only rarely (fewer than 10 verified sightings). Counts from verified iNaturalist observations.

The Rustic Wolf Spider (Trochosa ruricola) is the most commonly recorded, with 720 verified observations, about 58% of all wolf spiders reported in Washington. If you spot a wolf spider here, it is statistically most likely to be this one.

Washington also hosts less common wolf spiders such as Vancouver Thin-legged Wolf Spider, Pirate Otter Spider and Sand Bear Spider, each recorded fewer than 100 times. These are the species worth a second look when you are out, since a sighting is more notable.

Not every one of these is originally from here. Rustic Wolf Spider and Sand Bear Spider are recorded by iNaturalist as introduced in Washington rather than native, so they arrived with human help rather than on their own.