Wolf spiders, among the largest spiders found in Vermont's Green Mountains National Forest, grow up to 1.5 inches long, not including its leg width. The name was inspired by its fangs and hairy body, as well as its aggressive approach to chasing down prey. The wolf spider does not build webs for storing its victims or laying eggs, but prefers to dwell in underground burrows or tree cavities. Female carry their egg sacs before they hatch. After its hatchlings are born, a mother wolf spider allows its young to ride on its back until they are old enough to defend themselves.
Vermont's Green Mountains National Forest is also home to jumping spiders, which belong to the spider family Salticidae. These spiders are able to jump over 40 times their body weight and use this ability to hunt prey. When hunting, jumping spiders perch about a foot above the ground and wait for prey to pass underneath. They are able to see up to 12 inches away. Jumping spiders are hunters and do not build webs. Two jumping spiders found in southern Vermont are the bold jumper and North American jumping spider.
Sac spiders are quick hunters that do not build webs to catch their prey. These spiders have claws at the tips of their front two legs; thus, another name for sac spiders is two-clawed hunting spiders. The most common sac spider in southern Vermont is the running spider, but yellow sac spiders also occur in the Green Mountain State. Sac spiders are venomous spiders with a bite that can cause necrosis resulting in the premature death of skin tissue. Sac spider bites cause reddening or blackening of the skin at the bite's site.
Many streams and ponds in the Green Mountain National Forest are home to fishing spiders, a member of the Pisauridae family of arachnids. These spiders prey on aquatic invertebrates and tadpoles; larger specimens chase small fish. When hunting, fishing spiders often dive underwater. While they do not use webs for catching prey, female fishing spiders build nursery webs to lay their egg sacs. Females grow up to 1 inch long, twice the size of male fishing spiders. Fishing spiders may be identified by their flat cephalothoraxes.