How to see courtship and copulation in wolf spiders. The first step to seeing courtship and copulatory behavior is to make sure you have at least one mature male and one mature female of the same species. See part I of this guide for sexing spiders and for determining maturity. Generally, if you collect spiders from one locality and get both males and females, they are likely to be the same species. Next, it is a good idea to feed both the male and the female one day before they are used in an experiment.
Cannibalism can happen at any time, but it is less likely if the spiders have been fed recently.
Put the mature female in a container with a paper liner. I have often used 4 inch culture dishes with a filter paper as a liner, but any container that will hold the female will work. Most wolf spiders cannot climb smooth vertical surfaces, but it is often good to have a top on the dish. Let the female stay on top of the paper overnight. On the next day, you can use the paper by itself or the paper with the female to elicit courtship in the male.