This is particularly important for animals that inhabit desert ecosystems or other locations with large temperature swings.

[7] Additionally, the eyes of these spiders reflect light, which is an especially good identifier when encountering one at night.

[8][7] This includes, but is not limited to, South Carolina,[9] Kansas,[3] all Great Lake States,[10] and the American Southwest.

[7] In fact, researchers noticed that the home range of spiders (distance they frequent from their burrow) would be cut off by sharp topographical changes in desert areas.

[2] Carolina wolf spiders will sometimes inhabit the areas around human homes, and will take advantage of available prey like cockroaches and other pests.

[13] Additionally, they have been observed with juvenile Texas banded geckos as prey, implying they are also able to catch and consume small vertebrate species.

[7] To construct their own burrow, the Carolina wolf spider digs out a small area, spins a web to act as a mat that will hold the structure.

[7] Though they are diggers, Carolina wolf spiders do not have specialized digging anatomy, so it is sometimes easier to take over the burrow of other small organisms.

[7] The exact purpose of these turrets is not known, but they are hypothesized to be a lookout or early warning system for potential predators.

[7] Carolina wolf spiders tend to dig and improve their burrows in the early part of their activity season.

[7] It has been noted that when Carolina wolf spiders are brought in to lab conditions for observations, they do not burrow as well as out in the wild.

The females carry the eggs, the sacs attached to their abdomen, during the approximately two week incubation period.

This is observed when the spider is sitting near the top of their burrow with their heads down and their abdomen and egg sac, sticking up.

[6] Spiderlings are born near the end of summer and, barring exceptional circumstances like flooding, stay with their mother for the first six days of their life.

During that time they learn different cues and behaviors from their mother and subsist on the remains of the yolk from where they emerged.

[11] As immature spiders, the spiderlings go through multiple instars (growing stages) until they reach breeding age at about three years.

During the year, Carolina wolf spiders are active from March to October, and they hibernate from November through February.

When female Carolina wolf spiders do interact, their behavior can range from merely making foreleg contact to cannibalism.

Typically, they will make threatening motions like extending their forelegs, spreading their chelicerae, or drumming their palpi at each other.

Their predators include a variety of lizards, amphibians, wasps, and spider eating birds.

[2] Carolina wolf spiders are prey to large arthropods, including scorpions, as well as owls and coyotes.

[4] Carolina wolf spiders are able to thermoregulate very well, which is especially important for those that inhabit desert ecosystems or other locations with large temperature swings.

[15] H. carolinensis was voted as the state spider of South Carolina in 2000 after an initial suggestion by third grade student Skyler B.