another basement spider - Loxosceles reclusa

Spider

Here are a few tips on identifying a brown recluse spider:
The brown recluse has uniformly colored legs covered with fine hairs. The legs have no stripes, banding, or spines on them. The abdomen is also uniformly colored.
The body of the brown recluse is under half an inch in length.
The brown recluse has six eyes whereas most spiders have eight (this can only be determined with the use of a microscope.)

You are in the range of the Brown Recluse.

Your spider looks more like a Brown Recluse spider than most spiders that are posted on this site, but that is all I can say. And the size seems right too.

Please look our guide page for the Brown Recluse.

Also look at this site
And take a look at this page about living with Brown Recluse spiders.

From what I can see in your pictures I think this could be a Brown Recluse, but I am not to sure, so please wait for one of our spider experts to confirm or deny my suspicion.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

… Christopher C Wirth, 27 October, 2005 - 7:06pm

You are right.

I have collected them in Salem, MO years ago in the same habitat.
It is a male, and adult males are fairly long lived; up to a year.
(The other picture is a male, this one is likely a male as they do tend to wander. I am under the impression these are two different specimens.)

… Jeff Hollenbeck, 28 October, 2005 - 5:40pm

Lucky or unlucky find then?

We weren't really looking to catch something like this. We've just been seeing many more spiders than usual since he cleaned up the basement.

Thank you for your help. It's great to find a site that can really tell us what critters we live with.

Edited to add:

Boyfriend just took one of his handy magnifying lenses and after tormenting me with said caught spider, showed me three "spots" where the eyes are. He has taken more photos with a regular disposable camera. I should have the film developed and on cd by tomorrow evening.

… mareastrum, 27 October, 2005 - 9:10pm

Spider

I forgot to mention this before, but the six eyes of a Brown Recluse are arranged in three pairs of two, hence the "three spots" your boyfriend saw. From the detail about the eyes I would say that you have found a Brown Recluse.

If you still have the spider a want to keep it, say as a conversation piece, then put just put it in a small jar filled with isopropyl alcohol.

About all of the spiders in you basement: I think that there were always that many, you just couldn't see them because of all the clutter.

And please post your new pictures of this spider. We do not have a photo of a Brown Recluse in the Guide yet.

Also, not to alarm you, but Brown recluse spiders are almost communal and can be found in large numbers. But, they will only bite humans they have been extremely provoked (i.e., squeezing one with you fingers.) Most Brown Recluse bites result in only a small red mark and heal without serious complications.

One last note: take a look at the two site listed below. They have information about how to get rid of Brown Recluse spiders.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2061.html
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7468.html

In their range Brown Recluse spiders can be quite common, so this is not a "lucky" find in the sense of finding a rare spider.

I don't know if you consider this find lucky, but I would.

… Christopher C Wirth, 28 October, 2005 - 8:05am

Too Many Spiders!!!

I live in Cordell, OK and when I saw this pic I had a crazy idea to go see how many I could find in 10 minutes. About 2 minutes later I head up to my attic and before I even get in the door there is an area of very warm, dry air. I look down to check out the steps and found 4 Brown Recluse spiders before I even open the door. I thought I better stop there before I scare myself out of ever going up there again. The one I see doesn't bother me, its the hundreds I don't.

-Eric

… swayne64, 8 August, 2006 - 4:53am