Kaua'i Cave Wolf Spider

Adult Kauaʻi cave wolf spiders typically measure between 12.7 and 19.0 millimeters (0.5-0.75 inches) in length. The Kauaʻi cave wolf spider is the only wolf spider to completely lack eyes. It has a reddish brown to orange carapace with a pale abdomen and bright orange legs. Each leg has four pairs of short black spines and a thin coating of pale, silky hairs. The chelicera has three large teeth used for biting prey.

The Kauaʻi cave wolf spider is an obligate cave-dweller. It lives in large cave passages, small mesocaverns, and cracks that are inaccessible to humans. Since they can die of desiccation in low humidity, the Kauaʻi cave wolf spider requires a high humidity habitat. Because of this, they prefer to inhabit the dark and stagnant air zones of caves. These zones are characterized by high humidity, low air movement, and low temperature fluctuations.

The Kauaʻi cave wolf spider is an opportunistic feeder, meaning it feeds on other cave inhabitants whenever possible. Its diet may include the Kaua'i cave amphipod, as well as introduced spiders and cockroaches.

Kauaʻi cave wolf spiders have a small clutch size compared to other wolf spiders. Kauaʻi cave wolf spiders only produce 15-30 eggs per clutch, where as other terrestrial wolf spiders may have 100 to 300. Female Kauaʻi cave wolf spiders carry their egg sacs on their backs until their spiderlings hatch in 30 to 50 days. Upon hatching, the large spiderlings are carried on the back of the mother for several days. Kauaʻi cave wolf spiders have an adapted row of comb-like teeth on their claws. These align with the branched hairs of their mother's back and allow the spiderlings to hold onto the mother securely for protection and transport. This species takes up to a year to reach sexual maturity. At that time, the spiderlings are old enough to hunt for themselves and disperse from the mother. Little is known about the mating strategies of Kauaʻi cave wolf spiders. Ecologists hypothesize that Kauaʻi cave wolf spider life history has been shaped by a behavior that allows other wolf spiders to fly through the air at short and long distances. Aerial dispersal is a behavior employed most often by young spiderlings, or instars, though it has never been observed in Kauaʻi cave wolf spiders. However, there are close relatives to this species that are able to aerially disperse that inhabit the islands next to Kauaʻi. …