Brown Recluse Spider
Common Name
Scientific Name
Brown Recluse Spider
Loxosceles reclusa
Identification:
The brown recluse spider or violin spider is a small-sized spider of approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch long. With its legs span, it is a little larger than the size of a quarter. The color of the brown recluse spider is generally brown. Its body shows a peculiar cephalothorax (head) with a dark brown violin-shaped spot; the legs are light brown and the oval-shaped abdomen is dark brown, yellow, or greenish yellow. The most important characteristic is the presence of 3 pairs of eyes located on the head of this spider, normally spiders have 4 pairs of eyes.
Biology:
The egg laying process usually occurs from May through July. The female will lay about 50 eggs and in an off-white silken sac, measuring about 2/3 of an inch diameter. One female can produce several egg sacs over a period of several months. Spiderlings emerge from the egg sac in about a month or less. Their development is slow and is influenced by weather conditions and food availability. It takes an average of one year to reach the adult stage from time of egg deposit. Adult brown recluse spiders often live about one to two years. They can survive long periods of time (about 6 months) without food or water.
Habits:
The Brown Recluse spider, like all spiders, spins a web of very sticky, off-white to grayish thread. During the daytime hours, this serves as their home; it is often made in an undisturbed corner, sometimes in attics, basements, crawl spaces, cellars, closets, duct work, heat registers. They have also been known to be found in boxes of shoes, clothing, folded linens, and behind furniture.
When this spider is found outdoors, they are normally found in barns, storage sheds, garages, underneath logs, loose stones in rock piles, and stacks of lumber. Although they like to be undisturbed, they do thrive in human-altered environments. In recent research it has been discovered that unlike most spiders, Brown Recluse spiders are actually scavengers rather than hunters. They like to feed on already dead insects and are very active during the night. Males also search for females during the night.
The brown recluse spider 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.
