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RECLUSE SPIDER:

The recluse spiders (genus Loxosceles), also known as fiddle-back or violin spiders, are a venomous genus of spiders known for their necrotic bite. They are members of the family Sicariidae, having formerly been placed in their own family, "Loxoscelidae".

Habitat and appearance

Loxosceles is distributed nearly worldwide in warmer areas, and are often known as violin spiders or fiddlebacks. All have six eyes arranged in three groups of two (dyads) and are usually brownish with a darker brown characteristic violin marking on the cephalothorax. Most Loxosceles can live for one and a half to two years. Members of both genera can live for very long times without food or water. They are about 7-12 mm long.

The recluse spider family includes about 13 species in the United States, theBrown Recluse Spider being the best known of these. It is found in a large area of the Midwest, west to Colorado and the New Mexico state line and east to Northern Georgia. Sporadic records from other locations only represent incidental introductions, not established populations.

Other notable members of this genus include theChilean Recluse and the Mediterranean Recluse.

Venom components and effects

Loxosceles spiders, like their cousins in  Sicarius , have potenttissue-destroying venoms containing the dermonecrotic agent, sphingomyelinase D, which is otherwise found only in a few pathogenic bacteria. This venom is highly necrotic in effect, capable of causing Lesions  (open sores) as large as a bottle cap. The wounds take a long time to heal and may require skin grafts. If these open wounds become infected there are often serious consequences. Rarely, the venom is carried by the blood stream to internal organs causing systemic effects.

The Chilene Recluse supposedly has a more potent venom, which results in systemic involvement more often. This spider was accidentally introduced to the Los Angeles area (Alhambra , Sierra Madre, and Monterey Park ). This spider, however, seems to be confined to a very limited area, even though it has lived there for over 30 years. Other members of the genus that have been tested have venoms similar to the brown recluse and all members of this genus are best avoided. However, the brown recluse and its relatives are not very aggressive and huge populations have been found in houses where the human inhabitants remained unbitten after years of cohabitation.

A possible problem with diagnosing a recluse spider bite is that the bite of these spiders is probably both underreported in some areas and over reported generally. Unfortunately several diseases can mimic the lesions of a recluse spider bite, including Lime desease , various fungaland bacterial  infections and the first sore of syphillis. Therefore it is extremely important to associate the spider directly with the bite, if at all possible, and consider alternative diagnoses if no spider was seen.

Recluse spiders are usually found in the center of space webs made of fungus-like silk, which often contains the remains of their recent meals. The most abundant food items for the Arizona Recluse  are night-active ants such as Carpenter Ants . The brown recluse feeds on whatever small prey is available. This is also true of all sicariids. Loxosceles reclusa have been shown in laboratory experiments to prefer scavenging than actively hunting.