Trochosa terricola

Male Trochosa terricola are 7–9 mm in length while females are 7–14 mm.[4] Similar in appearance to other Trochosa species, the female T. terricola has a reddish abdomen while the male has darkened front legs. The two short lines which are visible on carapace are a diagnostic feature of Trochosa wolf spiders. The light cardiac mark separates it from Trochosa ruricola which has a dark cardiac mark.[5]

Trochosa terricola is found in woodland, grassland, heathland and industrial sites and is often encountered under stones and logs, but overall it shows a preference for drier, heath-like conditions, although has been found in pitfall traps in areas of bog and marsh. Unlike the related T. ruricola it can be common in upland areas.[1]

Adults, both males and females, have been recorded from March to November, with a peak from spring to mid-summer,[1] although in warmer areas in can be active throughout the year.[3] This spider generally appears more sluggish than the Pardosa wolf spiders with which it is sympatric.[3] T. terricola is normally most active at night.[4] It has been recorded as a prey item of the pompilid wasps Priocnemis perturbator and Anoplius viaticus[6]

A spider wasp Anoplius viaticus with captured Trochosa terricola

Holarctic,[2] in Europe it is found throughout the continent and Great Britain and Ireland but is absent from Iceland.[4]