Is this a brown recluse? (pic included)?

Question

http://www.spiderzrule.com/spider107/spiderrec.JPG

I live in North Florida and I believe they are common here?

This spider looks exsactly like the spider I found in my home, but when I went to the source of the picture they wern't even sure if it was a brown recluse or not. So I thought I'd ask

here. :)

Answer 1

I will heavily disagree with the one person who said Brown Recluses are only in the panhandle.  I am the victim of a Brown Recluse Spider bite, confirmed by hospital, I spent a week in the hospital, and after 3 months, still far from healed, and I live in South Florida!

That picture you have does not look like the one that bit me however there is a variety.

Being bitten, I have HEAVILY researched and the VERY BEST web site out there is:

http://www.brown-recluse.com

Answer 2

Yes , it probably is since it has the characteristic fiddle-back .

With this spider's reputation it is best to err on the side of caution.

:0)

Answer 3

it's impossible to tell from just a picture. But from the picture it could be a brown recluse.

It doesn't have the backward's pointing "violin" but not all recluses have one, also it definitely has some kind of marking there that sort of resembles the more pronounced violin shape many of them have.

There is one definitive test for a spider that looks like that: count its eyes. Using a microscope or magnifying glass (kill it first, it's got bad poison) count how many eyes it's got. If it's got 8 eyes like most spiders, it's not a brown recluse. If it's only got 6 eyes, then it is. There are a few other 6-eyed spiders but none of them look even remotely like that.

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have a spider that looks similar to that, called the Hobo spider. Some people suspect it has similar poison to the brown recluse.

If a brown recluse bites and injects venom, instead of a dry bite, it makes your flesh rot away from the spot of the bite and there's an open sore there for several weeks or months. Don't let one of those critters bite you.

Answer 4

Todd the voice of reason, people are so eager to kill animals that MIGHT hurt them and they encourage tolerance for humans that do hurt them. Give Todd best answer.

Answer 5

I live in MO and these are very common. This looks like it may be a brown recluse, but some characteristics are missing, such as the fiddle on its back. Also, the fangs look too long. Another thing to note is that brown recluse spiders are only found at the very west portion of the panhandle in Florida. Here are some websites that may help you better:

Identifying and Misidentifying the Brown Recluse Spider

http://dermatology.cdlib.org/DOJvol5num2...

USA Spider Chart

http://www.spiderzrule.com/spider052/USA...

You can see the fiddle on his back

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casef...

Another fiddle example

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/images/44...

Answer 6

that is a brown recluse

Answer 7

This is a great example of why the "fiddle back" guide simply does not work.

This is *NOT* a brown recluse.  Brown recluses don't even live in Florida except in the very tip of the panhandle.

This is a brown recluse;

http://bugguide.net/node/view/33493

Range of the brown recluse

http://bugguide.net/node/view/33494

See the difference?

Working on a better ID..

*update*

You got a picture of a kind of crevice weaver called the Southern House Spider.  This particular one is a male.  They are common in Florida.

Binomial /Kukulcania hibernalis/.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/26400/bgim...

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/urban/spid...

http://www.floridanature.org/species.asp...

This species show strong sexual dimorphism (males and females looking different).  Males are a khaki or tan color while females are a black velvet color.  Males also have the long pedipalps shown in the photo.

*those are not the fangs, those are the Pedipalps, which are "feeler arms" that all arachnids have.  In scorpions, they are modified into claws and in some spider species they look like a 5th pair of legs.