Common Wolf Spider Pardosa pullata

I have probably seen millions of these but although I've suspected the ID before this is the first one I've confirmed. I couldn't see the epigyne anywhere near clearly enough without clearing the abdomen.

female Pardosa pullata showing epigyne, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 17th-18th May 2023

This time I could see the epigyne clearly enough without resorting to clearing the abdomen. This was found by suction sampling.

female Pardosa pullata showing epigyne, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 17th April 2025

These two males were found by pitfall trapping. The first was straightforward enough with the pedipalps matching pullata well enough I think.

male Pardosa pullata showing pedipalp (2 views), Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 4th-5th April 2025

On the second the pedipalps didn't quite match but I wasn't convinced they were fully developed. They didn't seem to match anything else (but please shout if you think I've overlooked something) and I'm tentatively identifying it as another pullata, just not quite mature. Happy to be corrected if need be.

presumed immature male Pardosa pullata showing pedipalp (2 views), Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 4th-5th April 2025

Further pitfall trapping produced a few more Pardosa some of which I found quite tricky to identify. Even the males took me a while to be confident about, but I eventually settled on pullata for this one. I find clearing the pedipalp in potassium hydroxide makes it easier to see some of the details (as in the last two photos below) although this can result in the interior of the pedipalp ballooning so altering the position of the various elements.

male Pardosa pullata showing pedipalp (2 views), Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 11th-12th May 2025

There were a lot of similarities between the pedipalp of the above spider and Pardosa prativaga which was also in the same traps. In fact in flat view they really were very similar indeed, which caused me to question whether they really were different species. But in side view the prativaga clearly had a strongly hooked tip whereas in the pullata this was smaller and not hooked downwards at all.

male Pardosa pullata and male Pardosa prativaga pedipalps, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 11th-12th May 2025 - in both photos the pullata is on the left and the prativaga on the right

Having spent a long time on the males, the females in the same traps seemed unexpectedly straightforward.

female Pardosa pullata showing epigyne (before and after clearing), Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 11th-12th May 2025

This one was at a different site and I examined it before the ones from the site above where there was a larger number and variety of Pardosa. Unfortunately something cropped up while the epigyne was clearing in potassium hydroxide which meant it stayed in way too long. It was really hard to see any structures, though dying it with chlorazol black brought out some of the ducts a bit. In the end I satisfied myself that it was pullata, though looking back at it after processing the ones from the next site (including the pullata above) I started to have doubts. At the moment I'm working on the basis that I was right and the odd appearance is down to it spending too long in potassium hydroxide, but I welcome correction if you know better.

female Pardosa pullata showing epigyne (before and after dying), Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 11th-12th May 2025

My previous attempts to identify wolf spiders were largely unsuccessful and although I tentatively identified a few I don't think there's much value in showing unconfirmed examples here, so I've removed the one that was included in an earlier version of this page.