What does a recluse spider look like? Brown recluse spider: appearance, lifestyle and reproduction
The brown recluse spider is considered one of the most poisonous spiders in the world. Scientists classify it as an arthropod arachnid of the spider order, family Sicariidae. The genus this spider belongs to is called Loxosceles.
Poisonous spiders are the most dangerous animals for us. They sneak up unnoticed and can strike what is called “in the back.” Who would want to become a victim of this eight-legged creature? There are probably few people willing!
If a person does happen to be bitten by this insidious creature, then tissue necrosis occurs at the site of the bite, which is deadly!
What does this little eight-legged monster look like?
This hermit spider is small in size. If he straightens his paws, then their span is from 6 to 20 millimeters. It is not always possible to even notice this deadly spider right away. Females are larger in size than males.
The body color is predominantly brown. But there are also yellow and gray representatives of this species. On the upper part of the cephalothorax the recluse spider has something resembling a violin.
A distinctive feature of this species is the presence of only 6 eyes, instead of 8. The abdominal part and paws are covered with small hairs.
In what part of the world can we expect this creature to attack? In other words, where does the brown recluse spider live?
The territories of his residence are considered to be: the midwestern United States. Further, the range goes south – to Gulf of Mexico. But the state of California was not included in the list of its “homes,” although representatives of arachnids similar to the brown spider live there.
Lifestyle of a recluse spider
Brown recluse spiders are nocturnal predators. Like most spiders, they weave spider webs that catch their prey.
Almost the rest of the day, except at night, they sit out in secluded places - among the roots, under stones, in rodent burrows. But sometimes they become close “neighbors” of people, which is a very dangerous circumstance for the latter.
What does the insidious spider eat?
All living things that fall into his web and become food for him. Basically, its prey is insects, as well as other spiders.
Reproduction of poisonous hermits
In secluded places, away from prying eyes, the female brown recluse spider lays eggs. The eggs are located in a whitish sac, “woven” personally by the female from a web, the size of which can reach 7.5 millimeters in diameter. During one mating season, 30 to 50 eggs are laid.
Once born, young individuals undergo many molts before reaching adulthood. Each molt for a spider is a very unpleasant and even painful condition. Maybe that's why some spiders are so angry and bite so painfully?
IN natural environment brown spiders-hermits live up to two to four years.
A week later… How to protect yourself from a recluse spider bite?
In fact, these eight-legged creatures are not aggressive at all; they themselves rarely attack without reason. But if you disturb a spider... for example, when it got into the laundry and you started cleaning... you shouldn’t expect mercy - it will bite!
Immediately after a brown spider bite, tissue necrosis occurs, that is, tissue death. Typically an adult healthy person with a strong immune system, nothing threatens you except an unpleasant wound, of course, if you consult a doctor in time. But small children and elderly people, as well as sick people, are less fortunate. Their body is not able to resist the toxins contained in the spider's venom as easily. Therefore, there have been cases with fatal.
One of the smallest, and one of the most poisonous, perhaps this is how one can briefly describe the brown recluse spider, which is often called the lone spider. If you meet this baby at the wrong time and in the wrong place, you can pay a huge price for it, because its bite is incredibly dangerous for humans.
Where does he live?
From the midwestern United States all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, and its relative, the red recluse spider, is often found in Hawaii. They are located in cracks under stones, in small holes under tree roots, and other places where there are crevices, weaving there a soft bed of cobwebs. The brown spider really likes it where there is a tree and twilight. It can increasingly be found in basements, sheds, manholes, and adapts perfectly to environment, changed by man.
What does it look like?
Incredibly tiny - the size of the spider, including the span of its legs, can be only 5-25 millimeters!
Females, as often happens, are larger than males. For greater camouflage, nature has endowed them not only with a small size, but also with a suitable color - brown, gray, dark yellow, making the spider impossible to notice right away. On the cephalothorax you can see a pattern that is somewhat similar to a violin.
However, this is not a distinctive sign of this type of spider; its other brethren also have such marks. Brown lonely spiders have 6 eyes, that is, only 3 pairs, and not 4, as is customary for most spiders.
The life and adventures of a little spider
The brown recluse spider hunts mainly at night. Males willingly leave their “home” and can wander anywhere in search of prey, including flesh and human habitation. Females leave their homes reluctantly; they prefer to hunt close to the house, sometimes without moving even a dozen meters.
The lifespan of these spiders is on average 2-4 years. Your eggs, like sacs white, the female stores it in very carefully selected, hidden places. Babies molt up to 10 times as they grow up.
Brown spider and man
The brown spider is incredibly dangerous for humans. Due to the fact that a spider can wander into a person’s house, climb into clothes scattered on the floor or even into a bed, or sit in the carpet, the likelihood of an unpleasant encounter increases significantly.
And the brown spider's tiny size makes it difficult to detect. The brown spider never attacks first; it does so only in self-defense. It bites people if they, without noticing it, sit on it, or begin to deliberately disturb it. You should never pick up a spider; it is better to give it the opportunity to hide unhindered, because curiosity can be very expensive.
The venom of the brown spider has a slightly different effect than that of or. However, it is extremely toxic and dangerous.
Among spiders there are species that pose a considerable danger to humans. These include the recluse spider, whose bite causes severe necrotic skin lesions, in some cases resulting in death. The Latin name for this dangerous insect- Loxosceles reclusa. It lives in the east North America, from where it often migrates to the south and southwest of the mainland. In Europe, fortunately, the spider is not found.
The recluse spider has a wide distribution, which, in addition to its toxicity, makes meeting it dangerous for humansDescription of the insect
Outwardly, the recluse spider reminds everyone of the familiar harmless haymaker. It has a small body 5-7 mm long and long legs with a span of up to 15-20 mm. It is colored brown, dark yellow or grey colour. On the cephalothorax there is a pattern similar to a violin.
The hermit has some characteristics, distinguishing it from other spiders:
- it has only three pairs of eyes, while other species have four;
- there is no pattern on the abdomen and legs;
- the body is covered with hairs;
- the web is sticky, chaotic, without the usual radial structure.
The spider sits on a flat surface (stones, walls) with its limbs spread wide apart. Sensing danger, he takes a protective pose: the front legs are tucked in, the middle legs (pedipalps) are raised, the hind legs are apart.
The arthropod received the name “hermit” thanks to solitary lifestyle. It does not spread webs between trees or on grass. During the day, the spider hides in inaccessible dry places: under stones, snags, in crevices, in burrows of small animals, and only comes out to hunt at night.
This video explains the characteristics of the recluse spider:
It is not attached to its web and can move quite far from the nest. Brown recluse looks for other spiders and other insects, attacks them and injects poison, from which they instantly die. Spider venom is very toxic, its composition has not been fully studied.
Spiders make nests in hidden, hard-to-reach places. They spin cocoons and lay eggs in them. There are up to 40-50 eggs in one cocoon. The spider reliably guards the clutch and practically does not leave the nest until the offspring appear. As they grow, young spiders change their shell up to 8 times. The lifespan of hermits is 2−4 years, some individuals live up to 6 years.
Attack on people
Brown hermits like to settle in dry, warm, abandoned or little-visited rooms: summer houses, garages, sheds, attics, woodpiles. They sneak into them through cracks, open windows and doors. There, insects hide in secluded places: behind radiators, paintings, between furniture and walls, in old boxes.
While in its habitat, carefully inspect the area around it to avoid unfortunate incidents Brown recluse spider not aggressive. He attacks only if he senses danger: he was crushed, stepped on, invaded the nest or disturbed the clutch. Hermits often bite people while cleaning the premises. Spiders can crawl into your bed, clothes or shoes at night. There were many cases where people were bitten right in bed or in the morning when they were getting dressed or putting on their shoes. The areas most commonly affected by bites are the arms, neck and lower abdomen.
In the United States, spider attacks on people are not uncommon. About 7,000 people are bitten every year. Quite often they lead to death.
Several years ago, the media reported an invasion of recluse spiders on a house in Missouri. Almost 6,000 small arthropods attacked people. The inhabitants of the house had to urgently leave their home.
Danger of a poisonous bite
The brown spider has a transparent and viscous venom. Its bite feels like a needle prick. Very often it goes unnoticed. Consequences of a bite depend on how much poison has entered the human body. There are people for whom it has practically no effect - only a small red spot remains at the wound site, which heals quickly.
Spider venom causes tissue necrosis; if left to chance, the likelihood of blood poisoning is extremely high The majority, under the influence of the enzymes contained in the poison, develop a disease called loxoscelism. A person immediately or after 5-6 hours develops allergic reaction:
- nausea;
- sweating;
- itching, chills, discomfort.
Then, in people who are hypersensitive to the poison, a pale spot appears at the site of the bite. It deepens, increases, and dry gray-blue spots appear around. In severe cases, a gangrenous wound opens at the site of the lesion, which heals very slowly. In especially severe cases, damage to internal organs occurs, followed by death. This usually happens to young children and the elderly.
Help for the victim
If a bite is detected, a person must immediately provide first aid. The affected area is washed with soap and water, then ice wrapped in a clean cloth is applied to it for 10 minutes. This is done several times. The cold will prevent the poison from entering the bloodstream and spreading throughout the body. If an arm or leg is injured, a splint is placed on it.
In the first minutes after a bite, it is extremely important to slow down the spread of poison throughout the victim’s body as much as possible. For disinfection, the bite site is treated with antiseptic agents, and the victim is given antihistamines. He needs to be sent to a medical facility as quickly as possible. It is advisable to catch the spider, place it in a jar with a ground-in lid and give it to specialists for examination.
There is no antidote for the venom of the brown recluse spider. To treat a bite, antibiotics, agents to reduce inflammation, antimicrobial and antiallergic drugs, and heparin are used. In some cases, doctors suggest surgery to stop the poison from spreading throughout the body.
The severity of the consequences will be less, the sooner the victim receives medical assistance.
Precautionary measures
When going to an unfamiliar country, you need to inquire about its poisonous animals. In places where recluse spiders are found, there are the following rules:
- bedding, clothing and shoes are inspected and shaken before use;
- wear gloves when doing housework;
- when carrying stones, firewood, timber, or when repairing the porch, be careful;
- You should not walk barefoot in rooms where spiders may be found.
Insects love to hide in cracks, furniture and old boxes. The cracks need to be sealed, boxes should be removed from the living space, cabinets and bedside tables should be locked as tightly as possible. Since brown spiders enter the house through windows and doors, use protective nets and seal the cracks. In sheds and attics, various things are stored not in wooden boxes, but in plastic containers. Firewood and lumber are kept away from the house.
Residential areas need to be cleaned regularly. Under beds, sofas and cabinets are thoroughly vacuumed. Dust containers that may contain spiders and their eggs are thrown into garbage containers. Insecticides are used for destruction. Places where poisonous creatures can live - under window sills, under baseboards, behind furniture - are sprayed with an aerosol or sprinkled with powder.
The poisonous bite of a recluse spider causes severe allergic diseases, often leading to necrosis and death.
The injured need urgent assistance medical care. To prevent bites, it is important to prevent recluse spiders from settling in your home.
About 400 million years have passed since the first spider appeared on planet Earth. At the moment there are already more than forty thousand species. Spiders are not insects, they are a separate class and a separate order - arachnids.
In and in the Arachnida class there is a family of poisonous creatures - hermit spiders. They represent great danger for humans, since their bite is invisible, and the poison is very toxic. The brown (or brown) recluse spider is considered the most poisonous of this family. If your place of residence is where this harmful creature lives, you need to be able to recognize it.
Brown recluse spider
One of this family is the brown spider, or brown spider (hermit), its photo is presented below.
These creatures are distinguished by their toxic poison. After an insect bite, complete tissue necrosis occurs in this area. The “lucky” ones who are lucky enough to have such a neighbor as the brown spider (recluse) are residents of the eastern part of the United States.
This poisonous creature of nature cannot be considered one of the friendliest individuals, but, nevertheless, it is distinguished by its activity and moderately annoying character. Perhaps the brown recluse spider would have remained an unremarkable arthropod to this day, but the strange property of its venom attracted the attention of scientists to it. Professor Binford explains that these spiders have been using their venom for about 120 million years.
Habitats of the eight-legged “monster”
This type of spider is found in lands all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. They have not yet reached California, but representatives of the Looseness genus live in those places. The red hermit spider is found in Hawaii (see photo below). He is a relative of the eight-legged "monster".
Global warming may cause this arachnid species to move further north. So getting to know its representatives in detail will come in handy. Currently, Georgia, the Mediterranean and South part Russia.
Spiders love to hide in the roots of trees, in animal burrows, and in general wherever there are shady places. Over time, the recluse spider can increasingly be found in the garage, basement, toilet and attic, and the hermits began to behave like full-fledged neighbors of people, settling in apartments and houses.
Appearance of a little hermit
The brown spider is small in size. When the legs are spread out, the length of its body is 6-20 mm. This deadly recluse spider is not always easy to spot because it is so small. Females are larger in size than males.
Body predominantly Brown, gray and dark yellow individuals can sometimes be found. The brown recluse spider is also called the fiddle spider. This was facilitated by the fact that the pattern located on the head and chest is very reminiscent of this musical instrument.
A distinctive feature of this species is the presence of 6 eyes instead of 8. Small sensitive hairs are visible on the abdominal part and paws. The legs of the recluse spider are quite long and thin. When he is in a calm state, his paws are widely spaced.
Lifestyle
According to their lifestyle, brown recluse spiders are nocturnal predators. They hunt for food in the dark. Males emerge from their webs and go on night raids to explore distant territories. Females do not do this very willingly; they usually prefer to hunt near their home. For the rest of the day, small nocturnal hunters sit in a secluded place.
The food for the brown recluse spider is everything that falls into traps, the role of which is played by the web. Prey is mainly small insects and other spiders. It is not at all difficult for hermits to obtain food; it does not require much work. Scientists face an unsolved mystery as to why nature endowed this insect with a potent poison. The eight-legged “monsters” live calmly and don’t bother anyone unnecessarily.
Reproduction
The female brown recluse spider, having chosen a secluded place away from prying eyes, begins laying eggs in white cocoon bags. Each such cocoon, woven by the female from the web personally, contains 40-50 eggs. The size of the pouch is about 7.5 mm in diameter.
Numerous brown recluse spiders that are born have many molts before they mature. They change their outfit 5-8 times. These creatures endure such a procedure painfully; it is unpleasant for them. It is possible that this is why hermits show anger and bite painfully.
The discarded spider outfit is quite tough; it can be stored in the ground for a long time. Experienced specialists use it for identification when studying insects of this species. Under natural conditions, a brown recluse spider can live 2-4 years.
- danger to humans
For people, the most terrible animals, oddly enough, are poisonous spiders. They can quietly approach their prey and deliver a “stab in the back.” It is clear that there is no one who wants to be in her place! Among the most dangerous arthropods in the world are hermit spiders. The venom of these animals is a slow-acting one, its manifestation can only be noticed several hours after the bite. At first, the person feels a slight tingling or burning sensation. Then everything will depend on how much poison has entered the body. If you get a lot of it, after 5-6 hours the bite site will begin to swell and a blister will appear. The following signs appear:
Malfunctions of the heart.
. Intestinal problems (disorder).
. Annoying cough and runny nose.
It often develops after a spider bite. It is facilitated by the presence of many enzymes in the venom. Necrosis of the subcutaneous tissue delays the healing process for three long years. It is possible that a bite can lead to the death of the victim, which is often observed in young children and the elderly.
Precautionary measures
Although this poisonous creature is not aggressive, if you disturb it, you cannot expect mercy: if it bites, it will bite! It is better to avoid such a situation in time and protect yourself from the deadly poison. To do this, you need to adhere to the following recommendations:
Clean the house thoroughly, removing cobwebs in a timely manner.
. Avoid the formation of cracks in the walls; if they appear, immediately cover or plug them.
. Before you put on any items, you need to inspect them carefully.
. Before going to bed, it is also necessary to inspect the sleeping area.
. There should be no trash or boxes under the bed, and the bed itself must not be placed close to the wall.
If you adhere to the above rules, it is quite possible to avoid an attack by a dangerous creature that can bring big trouble.
Need help for a brown spider bite
When a brown spider bites you, you should immediately do everything possible to stop the spread of the venom. You can put ice on the bite site. Be sure to treat the wound with one of the antiseptics and, of course, seek medical help.
Previously, during treatment, the damaged area of skin was surgically removed. Currently, therapy is carried out with antibiotics. If a person applies on time, serum is administered.
Brown recluse spider is one of the most poisonous representatives of the family of brown recluse spiders, famous for its venom, which causes necrosis (death) of tissue at the site of the bite.
Residents of the eastern part of the United States are “lucky” to have such spiders in their neighborhood. This species is distributed from the midwestern United States to the Gulf of Mexico. It is not found in California, but other members of the genus Loxosceles live there. One of its relatives, the red recluse spider, is found in Hawaii.
They live quietly and do not bother anyone unnecessarily. Most They spend time hiding in secluded places: in crevices under stones and tree roots, in burrows of small animals and other crevices of natural origin. But due to the development by man of their ancestral habitats, over several hundred years spiders have learned to live next to him. True, this “joint” living clearly does not warm a person’s soul. This is understandable, who would be pleased to find this small, but quite dangerous, 8-legged creature in their bed or in their closet with clothes.
Photo by Spiderman937 And the spider is happy to try. He spins his nets in any suitable place - in sheds among firewood, in garages, basements and attics, that is, where there is wood and twilight. Sometimes it crawls into the house itself, where it gets into things collecting dust in the corner.
It is not always possible to notice it right away. He has small sizes– body length in leg span can reach 6-20 millimeters. The females are a little larger. And the color of the spiders is suitable: brown, gray or dark yellow. On the top of the cephalothorax there is a pattern shaped like a violin, but this is not distinctive feature of this type. Similar designs can also be worn by representatives of other families of arachnids.
Photo by Roy Dunn Another feature of these spiders is the presence of 3, rather than 4, pairs of eyes. The abdomen and legs are covered with short sensitive hairs. The legs are long and thin, in a calm state, widely spaced.
These are nocturnal spiders. They go hunting in the dark. Males calmly leave their web and go to explore distant surroundings, but females are not so willing to take this step. They try to hunt close to their “home”. It is precisely such night raids in search of prey (they hunt insects and other spiders) that bring hermit spiders into human homes. That's when His Majesty Chance comes into play.
This spider itself is not aggressive and will rarely attack a larger object first. A bite can only be inflicted in cases of self-defense. Most bites occur during cleaning or before bed, when the spider climbs into clothes scattered on the floor or into the bed.
The consequences of this bite will depend on the amount of poison that has managed to enter the body. There are times when everything goes unnoticed and without serious consequences. But if there was a lot of poison, then the most unpleasant things begin.
Photo by Kurt Nordstrom The bite of this spider leads to a disease such as loxoscelism, the main symptom of which is extensive necrosis of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. The disease is accompanied by constant malaise, nausea, fever and other unpleasant sensations. The size of the ulcer can reach colossal sizes - up to 25 centimeters in diameter. After healing, ugly depressed scars then remain at the site of such wounds. In severe cases, necrosis can affect more than just tissue skin, but also internal organs. This happens, of course, very rarely, but still. There have also been cases of death (in small children, elderly people and people with weakened bodies).
Loxoscelism But what it can lead to if you don’t see a doctor in time.
On the 3rd day after the bite 
On the 4th day after the bite 
On the 5th day after the bite 
On the 6th day after the bite 
On the 9th day after the bite 
On the 10th day after the bite To avoid such an outcome, people living in the habitat of these spiders must adhere to a few simple rules:
1) keep order in the house and do not scatter your things everywhere,
2) check your clothes and shoes thoroughly before putting them on,
3) frequently carry out wet cleaning and remove all dust and cobwebs from the far corners,
4) seal all cracks and cracks through which spiders can enter the house,
5) install special lamps on the outside of the house that repel insects that the spider feeds on, etc.
Scar at the site of a spider bite In these same places, hidden from the human eye, they store their masonry. The female lays eggs in the form of large whitish sacs. Its diameter can sometimes reach 7.5 millimeters. It contains from 30 to 50 eggs inside. Spiderlings have to molt up to 5-8 times during their growing period. The shed skin is very hard and can be stored in the ground for a long time.
The lifespan of these spiders ranges from 2 to 4 years.
