Photo: Eight-legged mom and her multi-legged brood

A mother’s instinct is the same, whether she has two legs, four legs, or eight. This wolf spider, photographed near Clyde River on July 11, may look scary but she was only about the size of a dime. After mating, the female wolf spider lays a dozen or more eggs then wraps them in silk to form a protective sac. According to livescience.com, the sac remains attached to her spinnerets — the body parts where she forms her silk — until the eggs are ready to hatch. But this one might have dropped hers, says McGill University Prof. Chris Buddle, because it looks like she’s carrying it in her mouth. When the spiderlings come out, they climb on her back and she carries them around for days until they are ready to venture out onto the tundra themselves. (PHOTO BY NIORE IQALUKJUAK)