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The Carolina Wolf Spider, also known as the Giant Carolina Wolf Spider, is one of the largest of over 2,200 species of Wolf Spiders. They are the largest North American Wolf Spider. Wolf Spiders make up the fourth largest family (in numbers) of spiders in the world.

Carolina Wolf Spiders are known for their speed, although they are not the most aggressive type of spider. Because they are skittish and leery of humans they should not be handled. Oftentimes the Carolina Wolf Spider will become so scared when held that it will quickly run away and you will have lost it for good. When people think of the term 'wolf spider' they often assume that they hunt in packs like their canine namesakes. In actuality they are solo hunters. In the wild, they will normally wander around and find prey at night, though they can also be observed during daylight hours. Females carrying egg sacs may also be found actively wandering during daylight hours.

Carolina Wolf Spiders are gray or brown, and their undersides are noticeably darker. They have eight legs and eight eyes. Their eyes make them recognizable; they have two on the top, two facing forward and four underneath. Females can reach up to a four-inch size after they completely mature, while the males are much smaller reaching not more than one inch in length. Males also have a shorter lifespan, males tend to live about one and a half years while females can live as long as three. Carolina Wolf Spiders do not reach maturity until one year of age.

The Caroline Wolf Spider is commonly seen in the United States and Canada.

Adult Carolina Wolf spiders do well on a diet of larger crickets or other insects, babies tend to do well with pinhead crickets and immature non-flying fruit flies. They are commonly found hunting in a wide variety of places including leaf litter, fields, and sand dunes, they are also seen burrowing in their natural habitat of open fields of the United States and Canada. Adult Carolina Wolf Spiders should be housed in a two and a half to five gallon tank. Three to six inches of peat moss or potting soil should be used as a substrate. It is important to provide enough substrate so that this active species can burrow. Keep the temperature around 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity around 75 to 80%. Babies can live in a plastic container with tiny air holes.

Female Carolina Wolf Spiders make an egg sac that they keep with them at all times. The egg sac can house up to 800 spiderlings at one time! Some females also keep more than one egg sac. Once the babies mature the mother carry them on her abdomen, they remain there by special hairs on the abdomen.

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