Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae (from Ancient Greek λύκος (lúkos) 'wolf'), named for their robust and agile hunting skills and excellent eyesight.

Unlike most other arachnids, which are generally blind or have poor vision, wolf spiders have excellent eyesight.

The egg sac, a round, silken globe, is attached to the spinnerets at the end of the abdomen, allowing the spider to carry her unhatched young with her.

Immediately after the spiderlings emerge from their protective silken case, they clamber up their mother's legs and crowd onto the dorsal side of her abdomen.

Among the Hogna species in the U.S., the nearly solid dark brown H. carolinensis (Carolina wolf spider) is the largest, with a body that can be more than 2.5 cm (1 in) long.

As with spiders in general, males of almost any species can sometimes be found inside homes and buildings as they wander in search for females during the autumn.

Wolf spiders play an important role in natural population control of insects and are often considered "beneficial bugs" due to their predation of pest species within farms and gardens.

These include shrublands, woodland, wet coastal forests, alpine meadows, suburban gardens, and homes.

Although some species have very specific microhabitat needs (such as stream-side gravel beds or montane herb fields), most are wanderers without permanent homes.

Arid-zone species construct turrets or plug their holes with leaves and pebbles during the rainy season to protect themselves from flood waters.

[14] In recent years, wolf spiders have been utilized as pest control in agriculture to reduce the amount of pesticides needed on crops.

A notable example is the use of wolf spiders in cranberry bogs as a means of controlling unwanted crop destruction.