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Status of the Wolf spider genus Trochosa (Araneae: Lycosidae) in
Kansas
HANK GUARISCO
Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas
67601, hguarisco@fhsu.edu
TRANSACTIONS OF THE KANSAS
ACADEMY OF SCIENCE
Vol. 111, no. 3/4
p. 301-303 (2008)
INTRODUCTION
Spiders belonging to the genus Trochosa C.L.
Koch 1848 (Araneae: Lycosidae) are small to
medium-sized hunting spiders (5.8-13.0 mm)
with rather stout legs (Fig. 1). Although
somatic characters are of some importance in
species identification, members of this genus
closely resemble one another and can be
definitively identified only by examination of
the genitalia under a dissecting microscope
(Fig. 2).
The most recent taxonomic revision of the
nearctic members of the genus included five
species (Brady 1979). Four of these species,
including two commonly found in Kansas,
were moved to the genus Varacosa (Jimenez
and Dondale 1987). The two Kansas species
are Varacosa avara (Keyserling 1877), listed
as Lycosa avara (Keyserling) in Fitch (1963),
and Varacosa shenandoa (Chamberlin and
Ivie 1942). Since both species have been
previously reported from Kansas (Brady 1979,
Guarisco and Fitch 1995), they will not be
treated in the present note. Populations of the
palearctic species, Trochosa ruricola (De
Geer 1778), have been recently discovered in
Cape Cod, Massachusetts (Edwards 1993) and
in Illinois (Prentice 2001). Furthermore,
Lycosa acompa Chamberlin 1924 was
synonymized with Lycosa sepulchralis
Montgomery 1902 which was subequently
moved into the genus Trochosa. The Florida
endemic, Trochosa abdita, has been
recognized as a valid species (Dreyer and
Brady 2008). Therefore, members of the
genus Trochosa found in the continental
United States presently include four species:
T. terricola Thorell 1856, T. sepulchralis, T.
ruricola, and T. abdita.
The genus was first recorded in Kansas by
Scheffer (1904) who mentioned capturing
Lycosa pratensis Emerton 1885 in the vicinity
of Manhattan during the spring and fall. This
name is a synonym of T. terricola, which
occurs in Europe, Canada, and in the US from
Maine westward into Washington, southward
into Indiana, Nebraska, Colorado, New
Mexico, Utah, Arizona and northern California
(Brady 1979). It has also been taken in the
Southern High Plains of western Texas
(Cokendolpher et al. 2008). However, the
Kansas records could not be confirmed
because Scheffer’s specimens could not be
located and there are no recent records of this
species in the state. Recent taxonomic
advances have made it possible to identify
Kansas specimens as Trochosa sepulchralis
(Montgomery 1902) (Dreyer and Brady 2008).
Note that the vulva chambers of the female
epigynum, visible through the integument on
either side of the middle field, extend to or
beyond the upper border of the middle field in
this species (Fig. 2).
The Kansas records reported herein
significantly extend the range of this species
to the northwest and document its presence in
the state.
Trochosa sepulchralis
This species has been taken in the following
Kansas counties: Elk, Douglas, Jefferson,
Miami, Montgomery, Reno and Russell.
Specimens have been found in leaf litter in
mesic woods, in houses, in a suburban pool
301 Guarisco
Figure 1. Trochosa sepulchralis, female, dorsal view
surrounded by short grass, under rocks in
pastures, on a sidewalk, in pitfall traps in
prairies, and on bare ground surrounded by
short grass. Adult males were collected in
April and May and adult females from April
through early August. A female carrying 123
spiderlings on her dorsum was discovered at
Hillsdale Lake in Miami County on June 7,
1998. A female carrying an egg sac attached
to her spinnerets was found in a shallow
burrow under a rock at Wilson Lake in Russell
County on June 20, 2008. The egg sac
contained 72 prelarval spiderlings. On June
13, 1988, three females with young were
taken from pitfall traps on the University of
Kansas Nelson Environmental Study Area.
There were 116, 100, and 116 young associated
with each of these three females. A female
with an egg sac was discovered under a
plastic bucket in my backyard in Lawrence,
Douglas County, on June 30, 2003. The egg
sac contained the characteristic, pale green,
pupal case of a mantispid which had already
hatched.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONs
These records extend the known range of this
wolf spider approximately 491 km north of
the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in
Comanche County, Oklahoma, and 571 km
west of the nearest reported eastern locality in
Rolla, Missouri (Dreyer and Brady 2008). T.
sepulchralis is a new addition to the Kansas
fauna. It occurs in a variety of habitats
ranging from woodlands to pastures and
prairies. More field work is needed to determine
its range within the state and uncover aspects
its natural history.
Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 111(3/4), 2008 303
Figure 2. Trochosa sepulchralis, female
epigynum.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thank Pat Miller and Gail Stratton for
identifying Kansas specimens. I thank the
Kansas Biological Survey for providing
specimens from the KU Nelson Environmental
Study Area. For permission to collect on their
property, I thank Derek Eschellbrenner of
Independence and Charlie Bish of Longton. I
thank Jim Mason of the Great Plains Nature
Center in Wichita for critically reviewing the
manuscript.
LITERATURE CITED
Brady, A.R. 1979. Nearctic species of the wolf
spider genus Trochosa (Araneae: Lycosidae).
Psyche 86: 167-212.
Cokendolpher, J.C., Torrence, S.M., Anderson,
J.T., Sissom, W.D., Dupere, N., Ray, J.D.,
and Smith, L.M. 2008. Arachnids associated
with wet playas in the Southern High Plains
(Llano Estacado), U.S.A. Museum of Texas
Tech University Special Publication 54:1-77.
Dreyer, J.M. and Brady, A.R. 2008. Trochosa
sepulchralis, a senior synonym of Trochosa
acompa, and the restoration of Trochosa
abdita (Araneae, Lycosidae). Journal of
Arachnology 36(1):65-75.
Edwards, R.L. 1993. New records of spiders
(Araneae) from Cape Cod, Massachusetts,
including two possible European immigrants.
Entomological News 104:79-82.
Fitch, H.S. 1963. Spiders of the University of
Kansas Natural History Reservation and
Rockefeller Experimental Tract. University
of Kansas Museum of Natural History
Miscellaneous Publication 33:1-202.
Guarisco, H. and Fitch, H.S. 1995. Spiders of
the Kansas Ecological Reserves. Kansas
Academy of Science, Transactions 98(3/
4):118-129.
Jimenez, M.-L., and Dondale, C.D. 1987.
Descripcion de una nueva especie del genero
Varacosa de Mexico (Araneae, Lycosidae).
Journal of Arachnology 15(2):171-175.
Prentice, T. R. 2001. Distinguishing the females
of Trochosa terricola and Trochosa ruricola
(Araneae, Lycosidae) from populations in
Illinois, USA. Journal of Arachnology
29:427-430.
Scheffer, T.H. 1904. A preliminary list of
Kansas spiders. Industrialist (Kansas State
Agriculture College, Manhattan, Kansas)
30(24):371-386.
