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Identifying the Brown Recluse Spider (BRS)
Brown recluse spiders (BRS) bites are often misdiagnosised , just as other spiders are misidentified as a BRS. The information presented will help to lend some light to a somewhat common but misunderstood spider.
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The BRS is often sighted as having a dark brown, inverted violin shape on the its body, with the neck of the violin pointing toward the bulbous abdomen. While this marking may be common in many BRS, it can be just as common for no marking to be seen, as in the juvenile BRS. Overall the abdomen is uniformly colored and the coloration can range from light tan to dark brown. Adult BRS have a body that is about 3/8 inches long and about 3/16 of an inch wide. The legs are long and thin. The BRS including the legs can range from the size of a quarter to about the size of a door knob, (1 to 2 ½ inches). Both the male and female are venomous. A juvenile BRS resembles the adults except for size and a slightly lighter color. Six eyes instead of the usual eight that most spiders have, are arranged in a semicircle on the forepart of the body. To determine the exact species of recluse a spider expert aided with a microscope is needed. The brown recluse spider is found mainly in the central Midwestern states southward to the Gulf of Mexico (see map).
Life Cyle and Habits
Adult BRS live about one to two years and can survive up to about 6 months without water or food. Eggs a laid usually from May – July, with 50 eggs encased in an off-white silken sack, which is about 2/3 of an inch in diameter. More than one egg sac may be deposited by one female of the 3 month period. It takes about a year for the spiderlings to reach the adult stage, with this depending on the weather conditions and availability of food.
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The web of the BRS is a loose irregular web made of very sticky off-white to grayish threads. This web serves as the spiders daytime home, so it will be in an out of the way dark place, such as a corner, back of a closet, or other private areas. Night is when the spider comes out to hunt for other insects, but the BRS is not above being a scavenger and will often feed on dead insects.
BRS can live indoors or outdoors, but prefer dark, undisturbed areas. They have no problem living in human-altered environments and can be found in attics, basements, crawl spaces, cellars and closets. Storage boxes, shoes, clothing, folded linens, and behind furniture are other places they can be found indoors. Outbuildings like storage sheds, barns and garages are other favorite homes to the BRS. Wood and stone piles beside houses are other homes to the BRS.
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The BRS is not aggressive, and it normally bites only when crushed, handled or disturbed. Some people have been bitten in bed after inadvertently rolling over onto the spider. Others have been bitten after accidentally touching the spider when cleaning storage areas. Some bites occur when people put on seldom used clothing or shoes inhabited by a brown recluse.
