# Araña reclusa parda

*Loxosceles reclusa*

**Confianza en la identificación:** Requiere un experto — Brown recluses are among the most over-reported spiders in North America. The great majority of reports from outside the established range are something else, and the eye arrangement — not the violin mark — is the feature that decides it. Have a specimen identified before concluding.


## Cómo reconocerla

- Six eyes arranged in three pairs forming a semicircle, rather than the eight eyes of nearly all other spiders. This requires magnification and is the only reliable diagnostic feature.
- The legs are uniformly coloured with no bands, stripes, or spines — a banded or spiny-legged spider is not a recluse.
- The body is uniform tan to dark brown, 6 to 12 mm, with a leg span around 25 mm.
- A darker violin-shaped mark on the cephalothorax with the neck pointing backward is often present, but many harmless spiders have similar markings and some recluses show it faintly. Do not identify on this feature alone.

## Qué rastros deja

- Irregular, wispy sheet webbing in undisturbed storage, in boxes, and behind stored items — recluses do not build orb webs.
- Shed skins in undisturbed corners of basements, attics, and cupboards.

## Por qué persiste una infestación

Recluses are genuinely reclusive and bites are uncommon relative to how often they are blamed. Most bites occur when a spider is pressed against skin — in clothing, bedding, or gloves that have been stored undisturbed. Bite outcomes vary widely and most heal without intervention, but a minority produce a necrotic lesion. Many wounds diagnosed as recluse bites are later found to be other conditions, including infections, which is one reason a suspected bite belongs with a medical professional rather than a website.


## Dónde se encuentra

A well-defined range across the central and southern Midwest and mid-South — broadly Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. Reports far outside this range are very frequently misidentified.


## Qué la previene

- Store clothing, shoes, and bedding in sealed containers rather than open boxes in garages, attics, and basements.
- Shake out stored clothing and footwear before use.
- Reduce clutter in undisturbed storage areas, which is the harbourage.
- Fit door sweeps and seal gaps at grade.

## Se confunde con

- **Araña de sótano** (*Pholcus phalangioides*) — Extremely long, thin, fragile legs — up to five or six times the body length — with a small, pale, elongated body.
- **Araña lobo** (*Lycosidae*) — Eight eyes in three rows, with two very large forward-facing eyes that reflect light brightly under a torch. A recluse has six eyes in three pairs and no eyeshine.
- **Araña hobo** (*Eratigena agrestis*) — Brown with a faint herringbone or chevron pattern along the abdomen, and uniformly coloured legs without distinct bands.

**Verdict:** monitor-and-assess. Identification is the whole question, and it is genuinely difficult. Most suspected recluses are not recluses. Confirm before doing anything else.


Source: https://againstpest.shop/es/identificar/aranas/arana-reclusa-parda/