female wolf spider

6100  Aldershot area which is on the border between Hamilton and Burlington, Ontario. I searched through the spiders on your website but couldn’t find this one.   Found this spider today in an empty plant container. Took its pic and let it go. It’s body was about 1/2″ long. What’s curious is the three red orbs that seem to be attached to its body.  Maybe the red orbs are eggs? And it seems to be missing a leg.

This is a female wolf spider (family Lycosidae) with her egg sac; the red objects are mites. Many mites seen in such situations are phoretic (essentially hitchhikers getting a free ride), but some, such as those in the genus Leptus, are ectoparasitic, feeding on the spider’s fluids. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.