Unusual Spiders by the Dozen

Polly Bass writes:

Black spiders found by Elder, Joshua Coy Ongtowasruk, on the tundra near Wales Community. Elevation was near sea level, maybe 30ft. Asl. Spiders, around 75 to 100 were seen on top of snow near road and lagoon and along the road to Boulder Creek. Snow was about 2 feet thick. Various sizes of spiders were observed, but all seemed to be the same species. It was a warm day, and they were out on the snow surface. This is not something that has been seen before. Joshua has lived in Wales all of his life, for 55 years.

Derek Sikes, Curator of Insects at University of Alaska Museum - Entomology UAF (Consult) writes,

It's probably a wolf spider, family Lycosidae. Can't tell what genus or species based on the photos. Wolf spiders are commonly seen in the Arctic (and harmless).

LEO says:

This is the second observation that has been submitted this week about spiders in the Bering Straits region. LEO Observers in Teller also reported seeing an unusual spider, identified by Derek Sikes as another wolf spider (family Lycosidae). We asked Derek why these spiders are so noticeable this year. He replied saying, "when adult insects and spiders are seen so early in the year, they likely overwintered as adults. I don't know anything about the normal annual activity patterns of wolf spiders, which likely vary from place to place and species to species. In general, it's expected that as temperatures in a region increase relative to prior years, invertebrate activity will occur earlier in the season relative to prior years."

Resources:

UAF Cooperative Extension Service – Ground or wolf spiders (Lycosidae) have highly variable grey and brown color patterns to match their surroundings. The egg sac is round and carried by the female under her spinnerets. After hatching, the tiny spiderlings climb onto the abdomen of the mother and will remain there for a considerable amount of time. For information about the wolf spider among others, check out Beneficial Insects and Spiders of Alaska. University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF)