Kauai Cave Wolf Spider

Bugs, spiders and fish may seem small but they can also become endangered! The Kauai Cave Wolf Spider from Hawaii lives in only 3 caves. Only 30 counts of the spider have ever been recorded.  Granted, the spider wasn’t discovered until 1973 it seems even worse to me.

Scary or Pretty?

As a spider lover I’m definitely going to go with pretty on this one despite the spider missing eyes. Many locals refer to it as the blind spider.  They’re less than an inch big, easy to miss if I was crazy enough to go looking for them in caves on the Kauai Island.  

Eating and Running

Most spiders catch their prey in a net but wolf spiders actually chase their prey down. These little guys are pretty speedy and they’re venomous. They’re completely harmless to humans but not if you’re a small animal. They feed mostly on the Kauai Cave amphipod which is sort of like a little crab. There aren’t a lot of amphipods either, only 80 have ever been documented. The wolf spider will also prey upon other small crustaceans. This is a true cave hunter since most wolf spiders rely on their eyes to chase down their prey.

Lack of Sexy Time

So little is known about this spider that I don’t know if the female eats the male after she’s had her way with him, as is the case with most spiders, or if he gets to live another day.

Kiddos

Most wolf spiders have larger clutches of eggs but the Kauai Cave Wolf Spider only has about 30 eggs per clutch. This “clutch” is then carried in the female’s mouth until the young hatch. Once they get larger the young can hop on her back and go for a ride until they’re old enough, and large enough, to go hunt on their own.

Why Are They Endangered?

Seeing that these spiders live in caves you wouldn’t think they would have a lot of competition for habitat loss but that is in fact their largest threat. Most of the caves they live in are private lands and most people just don’t care. They use these caves to their own uses, sometimes filling them in or dumping stuff in them. As is the case in other animals already discussed on this blog introducing species to an environment has also hurt the spider. They fall victim to cockroaches and ants. This also brings more competition to eat the amphipods that are also endangered. Droughts and other extreme weather changes also affect the mortality rate of these spiders.

What is Being Done?

Most efforts are focused on protecting habitats and enhancing habitats. Since a lot of the land is private the government cannot force land owners to not dump in their caves. I believe a large portion of focus should be on educating others about the spider. I’m sure half of the people don’t even realize what they’re doing.

Tips You Can Do

Even though this spider is in Hawaii there are certain things to take away from this.

1)  Don’t throw stuff in your caves! You don’t know who lives there.

2) Watch your pets if they go outside. You don’t want your dog to be responsible for eating the last bubuxala flower in the world!

3) Take a few minutes out of your day and learn what lives around you. It can be interesting too!