Wolf Spider

Description:

I saw the spider with a dark object in its mouth scurrying across the path into the grass. As I readied my camera, a paper wasp zooms in, lands and positions itself in front of the spider. Photo1. The dark object, hidden beneath a leaf, was never seen again. Picture 2 The wasp, with jaws that can gnaw out wood, lunges at the spider. Picture 3 The wasp moves backward, dragging the spider with it. Picture 4. The spider eyes and body position indicate that the spider is on its side and the wasp continues to move the spider. Habitat. A rubberized path cutting though an open field next to a wooded area and a stream. The path may offer a cover for a spider burrow. I have never see a wolf spider like this. The spider is large approximately 1 to 1.25 inched acoss the body. The distribution of the 8 eyes, (Pix 1) is a characteristic pattern of a wolf spider. The face marking are almost identical to seen on wiki. The body markings are quite distinctive but I have been unable to identify it using bugguide with a verification by an established expert.

Habitat:

A rubberized path cutting though an open field next to a wooded area and a stream. The path may offer a cover for a spider burrow

Notes:

I have never seen a wolf spider like this. The spider is large approximately 1 to 1.25 inched across the body. The distribution of the 8 eyes, (Pix 1) is a characteristic pattern of a wolf spider. The face marking are almost identical to seen on wiki. The body markings are quite distinctive but I have been unable to identify it using bugguide. I have referenced bug guide with a spider with similar body marking. I disagree with the unverified classification and await a verification by an established expert.