Arizona Black Hole Spider Arizona black hole spider. There is no dark brown violin marking on the cephalothoraxĢ.It’s not uncommon to confuse the male southern house spider with a brown recluse. Both have light gray velvet type hair on their abdomen. The males are brown or amber, while the females can be charcoal, black or brown. Scientific name: Kukulcania hibernalis (formerly Filistata hibernalis).Ī female southern house spider can grow to 0.74 inches (19mm) in body length with males being slightly smaller at 0.39 inches (10mm) in body length. Southern House Spider Southern house spider There are 29 spiders in the United States that are often confused with the brown recluse, these include: 1. They are also known for building webs in old clothing and shoes you haven’t worn for a while, which is what increases the risk of being bitten.

Their webs are often found in dark and dry areas, such as inside furniture, in basements, or storage boxes. Remember they only create webs as a retreat and to lay eggs. The brown recluse is likely to build its web in an undisturbed location. Is the web in a crevice? This web is not from brown recluse spiders The brown recluse will spin its web retreat out of sight. If you see large webs between the branches in your yard or around the home filled with insets, then it is probably not a brown recluse. The brown recluse is a hunting spider and chases its prey rather than using its web to entrap prey. When it comes to the web of a brown recluse, there are two questions you want to ask yourself to help you identify if it is a brown recluse web. A spider’s silk is usually round, but the silk fibers from a brown recluse are flat and thin. The brown recluse spins silk, which is unlike other spiders. They are often encountered in basements and attics.

They build their webs on wooden surfaces, such as furniture, boxes, walls, and frames. The brown recluse is active at night and spends the day hidden. There are no spines on the legs, though there are fine hairs. Their legs are uniform in color with no banding or stripes. Legs Brown recluse: uniform color, fine hairs on the legs (no stripes or bands) The spider will never have two colors, they will always be one uniform color. The abdomen attaches to the cephalothorax and can vary in color from dark brown to cream. In the brown recluse, this is where the spider has a brown violin shape with the neck of the violin pointing towards the back of the spider. The cephalothorax, or head space, is the portion of the spider where the legs attach. They have one median pair and two lateral pairs. The eyes are arranged in pairs, set in a semicircle on the front of the head space. Most spiders have eight eyes, but the brown recluse only has six, which helps with identification. Males have longer legs than the female, but their body size is smaller. Size Brown recluse sizeĪn adult brown recluse can grow to 8mm in body length, 16mm in width, and have a leg span of 24mm. If you are not in one of these areas then chances are it is not a brown recluse you have encountered. They can be found in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. The brown recluse is a common and widespread brown spider that is found only in the central and southern parts of the United States. There are some things to look for, helping you quickly identify if the spider you have encountered is a brown recluse. If detained, it is known to assume a lifeless pose, where it plays dead. The good news is that this spider will normally try and get away, avoiding conflict where possible. The back legs may be pulled backward, enabling the spider to lunge forward, while keeping the pedipalps raised. The brown recluse may lower its body and pull its two front legs backward in a defensive pose when alarmed. The spider has not established itself outside this native range, even though there are rumors that it has been seen in California. In the southern areas, it can be encountered from Texas to Georgia, along with north to Kentucky. The brown recluse has a documented range in the United States that runs south of southeastern Nebraska, through southern Iowa and Illinois, along with Indiana then to southwestern Ohio.

Adult male brown recluse Habitat and Distribution The violin marking can often be misidentified with other spiders, such as the cellar spider. This spider has six eyes and has a distinct violin marking on its head space that points towards the back. The brown recluse spider is also referred to as the violin spider.

Translucent spider bites