Scopoli's beautiful wolf spider (Pisaura mirabilis) is the only species of this genus in Europe. It is a common inhabitant of meadows and forest edges in sunny spots, and we can also encounter it in forest clearings. We can observe it from spring to autumn.
It is a fairly large spider with a slender build and long, but sturdy legs. With them it grabs prey, which it stalks on the ground or on low vegetation with good vision, and then in a rapid run it catches it. It can also pounce on prey from an ambush…
Sexual maturity and the mating season occur in summer. At that time the male catches a fly, carefully wraps it in a silky cocoon, and brings it to the female. This gift distracts the female, which the suitor uses to quickly mate with her. The female lays eggs in a white spherical capsule that she carries with her. When the eggs mature late in the summer, the female slightly opens the capsule to ease the exit for the young, then hangs it among the vegetation near the ground and weaves a dense web around it. This ’nursery tent’, in which her offspring roam, the mother carefully guards.
For this species a long and narrow abdomen is characteristic, which narrows further toward the end. The coloration of these spiders is varied. Most are gray or brown, but yellowish or ochre individuals are also found. A lighter stripe along the cephalothorax is always pronounced, and the pattern on the abdomen may be clearly visible or blurred. The female's body length is 12 to 15 mm, and the male's body length is 10 to 13 mm.
