Hogna

Spiders of the genus Hogna are large and powerful wolf spiders.<ref>Benjamin Julian Kaston, Spiders of Connecticut under the section on the "Genus Lycosa'''," p. 321ff. The genus Lycosa has since been split into two additional genera, Hogna and Tigrosa. All of the American members of Lycosa have been transferred to Hogna or Tigrosa.</ref> They belong to the Family called Lycosidae. They will readily catch and eat crickets and other large insects. They do not try to hurt humans unless they are getting hurt themselves. Usually their colors are dull, mostly they are brown, dark brown, or black. Hogna carolinensisBenjamin Julian Kaston, How to Know the Spiders, p. 194,  where it is identified as Lycosa carolinensis. is the largest spider in the United States and can have a body length (head to tail) of up to almost 1.5 inches or 35mm. They scare people, but it is hard to get them even to try to bite. Instead of showing their fangs, they will run away. They can run very fast. They are about 16 times larger than the smallest species of wolf spiders. For instance, the smallest of the wolf spiders of the genus Trabeops are only 4 mm. long. Hogna carolinensis often digs burrows to live in. 

Other species in this genus include:
H. antelucana
H. baltimoriana
H. coloradensis
H. frondicola
H. lenta

In Europe there is a slightly smaller spider called Lycosa tarantula, a kind of wolf spider that people once believed could kill people. It gets its name from the city of Taranto in Italy. There are other wolf spiders that get a little larger than Hogna carolinensis, one of which is found in the Canary Islands, Allohogna singoriensis,'' which reaches a full 40mm.

References

Category:Lycosidae