Q 01/05

After wolf spider eggs hatch, where do the tiny spiderlings ride for their first weeks of life?

A) In her jaws

B) On her back

C) Under her legs

D) Inside a silk tent

Answer · why

B) On her back

On her back is where a mother wolf spider carries the whole brood: the spiderlings clamber up her legs as soon as they leave the egg sac and cling on ...

Q 02/05

A wolf spider discovered in Iran in 2016 was named Lycosa aragogi after a giant spider in which book series?

A) Percy Jackson

B) The Lord of the Rings

C) His Dark Materials

D) Harry Potter

Answer · why

D) Harry Potter

Harry Potter supplied the name because the spider resembled the animatronic Aragog built for the second film. The name also marked the 20th anniversar...

Q 03/05

In 2022, engineers in Houston pumped air into dead wolf spiders to turn them into what?

A) Robotic grippers

B) Self-flying drones

C) Glue dispensers

D) Heat sensors

Answer · why

A) Robotic grippers

Robotic grippers made from spider bodies launched a field its inventors named necrobotics. A puff of air opens the legs, and one spider could lift 1.3...

Q 04/05

A wolf spider from southern Italy was the first animal to carry which name, later given to far hairier spiders?

A) Huntsman

B) Black widow

C) Tarantula

D) Recluse

Answer · why

C) Tarantula

Tarantula first meant a European wolf spider. English speakers later shifted the word to the much bigger, hairier spiders kept as pets, which are not ...

Q 05/05

Peasants in Apulia once believed that the bite of a native wolf spider could be cured only by doing what?

A) Fasting

B) Dancing

C) Praying

D) Bathing

Answer · why

B) Dancing

Dancing was the folk remedy, with music played to get the victim moving. In truth this spider's bite causes no severe symptoms, and the mania probably...