I've heard it said that Knowledge is Power. Indeed, phobias can be cured through knowledge and awareness. This is how I have been dealing with mild form of arachnophobia. Since moving to Tennessee I have felt the need to read up and study about all the animals and insects that I may encounter so that one, I can identify them, and two, I can appreciate and respect them.
Toady's post is dedicated to the wolf spider. This is one of the scariest spiders I have seen so far. They are about the size of a quarter and can be as big as 2 inches in size. The reason they are called "wolf" spiders is due to their stalking nature of hunting their prey. They do not spin webs, but instead wander around and stalk their prey. Are they poisonous? I guess you could say that all spiders have some type of venom and wolf spiders are no different. According to Wikipedia.com ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_spider ), "Wolf spiders may or may not be aggressive but will inject venom freely if continually provoked. Symptoms of their venomous bite include swelling, mild pain and itching. Though usually considered harmless to humans, the bite of some species may be painful. Another source ( http://www.termite.com/spider-identification.html ) states that wolf spiders are non aggressive, but venomous and should be considered dangerous to humans.
So without further ado let us see what a Middle Tennessee wolf spider looks like...
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