Few spiders hold the dubious honor of name recognition among the general public. Most that do, like black widows, Australian funnel-web, the Goliath birdeater, are renowned not for their cute colors or weaving skills but for being fearsome, dangerous predators. The brown recluse is no exception. A bite from one of these arachnids can send someone to the hospital with a painful necrotizing wound and weeks of recovery. But do these spiders actually deserve all the hatred they get? In this week’s episode, we argue no. Breaking down not just the bite of the brown recluse but also its behaviors, its distribution, and its lore, we present a more complete picture of this vilified arachnid. Tune in for the low down on this shy spider.
| History | Biology |
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| Samu, Ferenc, et al. “Agricultural spider decline: long-term trends under constant management conditions.” Scientific Reports 13.1 (2023): 2305. | Dos Santos, L.D., Dias, N.B., Roberto, J., Pinto, A.S. and Palma, M.S., 2009. Brown recluse spider venom: proteomic analysis and proposal of a putative mechanism of action. Protein and peptide letters, 16(8), pp.933-943. |
| Sandidge, Jamel S., and Jennifer L. Hopwood. “Brown recluse spiders: a review of biology, life history and pest management.” Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 108.3 (2005): 99-108. | |
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| Saupe, Erin E., et al. “Tracking a medically important spider: climate change, ecological niche modeling, and the brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa).” PloS one 6.3 (2011): e17731. | |
| Schmaus, L. F. “Case of arachnoidism (spider bite).” Journal of the American Medical Association 92.15 (1929): 1265-1266. | |
| Sunagar, Kartik, and Yehu Moran. “The rise and fall of an evolutionary innovation: contrasting strategies of venom evolution in ancient and young animals.” PLoS genetics 11.10 (2015): e1005596. | |
| Swanson, David L., and Richard S. Vetter. “Bites of brown recluse spiders and suspected necrotic arachnidism.” New England Journal of Medicine 352.7 (2005): 700-707. | |
| Vetter, Richard S. “Spiders of the genus Loxosceles (Araneae, Sicariidae): a review of biological, medical and psychological aspects regarding envenomations.” The Journal of Arachnology 36.1 (2008): 150-163. | |
| Vetter, Richard S., et al. “Diagnoses of brown recluse spider bites (loxoscelism) greatly outnumber actual verifications of the spider in four western American states.” Toxicon 42.4 (2003): 413-418. |
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One thought on “Episode 219 The Brown Recluse: Fearsome foe or slandered spider?”
Thank you for debunking the myths around this misunderstood species!