Brown Recluse Spider Introduction

The brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa) Is a recluse spider known infamous for its necrotic venom. The most telltale characteristic of brown recluse spiders is the presence of a dark, violin-shaped mark on the dorsum of the arachnid’s light brown or yellowish-brown cephalothorax. The neck of this distinct violin pattern is directed toward the abdomen. Due to this marking, brown recluses are also commonly known as fiddle-back spiders. Baby brown recluse spiders do not have this distinctive marking. It develops as the spiders grow into adulthood. To positively identify a spider as a recluse, both the eyes and fiddle marking must be seen, since other spiders may possess one or the other characteristic alone. Like many spiders, the brown recluse spider likes to stay secluded in dark corners of places that are rarely disturbed or cleaned. Inside locations such as voids between and under kitchen cabinets, storage areas and basements inside houses can provide plenty of areas for these insects to hide. Outside these spiders may inhabit sheds, barns and garages and may unknowingly be brought inside a home when moving stored items inside. Brown recluse spiders build asymmetrical (irregular) webs that frequently include a shelter consisting of disorderly thread. Human-recluse contact often occurs when such isolated spaces are disturbed and the spider feels threatened. Unlike most web weavers, they leave these lairs at night to hunt. Males move around more when hunting than the females, which tend to remain nearer to their webs.