The Lake Placid funnel wolf spider (Sosippus placidus) is a species with an extremely limited distribution, found only in certain tracts of sandy scrubland in the vicinity of Lake Placid, Florida.
Most wolf spiders are roaming hunters or burrow dwellers that do not build any sort of web, but Sosippus build a funnel web where they ambush prey, similar to unrelated funnel weavers like Agelenopsis. Florida is home to a few other, more common species of Sosippus, but S. placidus is considerably larger than the others and has a unique black and orange underside.
The range of S. placidus is contained within the Lake Wales Ridge geological formation of central Florida, which has arid subtropical conditions unlike any other habitat east of the Mississippi. These dry, harsh scrublands are not as biodiverse as the swamps and forests covering most of Florida, but because the habitats are so unique many plants and animals have evolved here that are found nowhere else on earth.
Development, agriculture and fire suppression threatens to destroy what little remains of these scrublands, and the current political forces that control Florida (and the entire country for that matter) aren’t too keen on environmental conservation. So if you think this spider is cool I recommend making the trip to central Florida to get a good look before it’s gone forever.
(Florida, 11/4/25)
