Harmless in appearance and deadly dangerous - brown hermit spider

Some time ago, a story about the invasion of spiders on the house of residents of the state of Missouri (USA) made a lot of noise. An unpleasant neighbor was a brown hermit spider - a creature arrogant and deadly. What circumstances preceded the invasion of almost 6 thousand small monsters remained a mystery, but he won this battle by evicting a person from his own home. We will tell you more about how to identify a poisonous representative of arachnids and what threatens a meeting with him.

Get to know better

Describing the meeting, eyewitnesses often call it a large brown spider. But, as you know, fear has big eyes. In fact, the hermit or Loxosceles reclusa does not differ in large sizes - even taking into account the span of the legs, its length is 2 cm. The parameters of the body itself are 5–7 mm.

Why a hermit?

He is called a hermit for his desire for solitude and a nocturnal lifestyle. You will not see its cobwebs on the ceiling or between plants. He builds a nest in secluded inaccessible places, he likes it to be dark and dry. These are single spiders that can live in groups, but do not need it at all. In addition, he is not attached to his Putin, going for prey, goes far from the nest.

Distinctive features of the "portrait"

It is not difficult to identify the brown hermit spider by appearance, although in the photo it resembles a haymaker in some way - it is a harmless and terribly shy creature.

Arthropod has a dirty brown or dark yellow color, almost uniform on the cephalothorax, abdomen, legs. A distinctive feature is the drawing on the outside of the cephalothorax, resembling a violin. The spider has long, widely spaced legs. The body is covered with short thick hairs.

There are several more features that distinguish the brown hermit spider from the numerous arachnid order.

1. In addition to the recognizable pattern, he has 3 pairs of eyes, and not 4, like other relatives.
2. If you look closely, lighter spots are visible on the legs at the joints.
3. His web is messy, sticky, whitish in color, does not have the usual radial pattern.
4. If the hermit is disturbed, instinctively takes a threatening pose - rests on the hind legs, the front - retracts, the second pair (pedipalps) - raises.

Where is it found?

The homeland and traditional habitat of the brown hermit spider are the eastern regions of the United States, from where it migrates in the south and southwest of the mainland. There is evidence that Loxosceles reclusa was introduced into Australia. According to climatic conditions of habitat, suitable regions are the Mediterranean, the subtropical zone of Eurasia. Fortunately, a dangerous arthropod has not yet been noticed here.

How to hunt?

The hermit is small in size, does not weave hunting nets, so he uses the only possible way of hunting - he kills the victim with the help of poison. He goes in search of prey at night. Finding an insect or other spider, he attacks and quickly injects poison, immobilizing the victim.Death occurs instantly, since its poison is one of the most toxic substances, the nature of which is not fully understood.

Note! The poison of the spider Loxosceles reclusa is transparent and viscous. It contains dangerous enzymes that, getting under the skin, destroy cellular bonds, start the process of dying of soft tissues, and cause multiple inflammations.

Life cycle

Brown spiders from the genus Loxosceles belong to centenarians. The average life expectancy is 2–4 years; some specimens survive up to 6 years. The female, before laying eggs, weaves a dense cocoon. The number of eggs in the clutch is 40-50 pcs. The spider's future offspring reliably protects, practically without leaving the nest, until juvenile spiders appear. Until the mature form is reached, the young sheds up to 8 times, dropping a dense chitinous membrane.

Probability of meeting a person

Not only man tames nature, but our lesser brothers adapt to coexistence with civilization. So, a brown hermit spider with pleasure climbs into a dry, warm, and even better, abandoned room. Likely places to meet the dangerous arthropod are sheds, attics, empty summer houses, basements, and woodpiles. Penetrates into houses through open windows, doors. Here, hiding from the eyes of a person behind batteries, skirting boards, paintings, between the wall and tightly moved furniture.

Arthropod attacks, when it feels a threat - crushed, stepped on. Shows aggression, if you destroy the nest, they suddenly invade the shelter.

Note! In the States, the bite of this spider is not uncommon. From the representatives of the genus Loxosceles reclusa, up to 7 thousand people suffer annually. In a third of them, a bite leads to serious consequences. In unfavorable circumstances, a fatal outcome is possible.

Consequences of a bite

Those who are unlucky describe the bite of a hermit spider as a sharp sudden injection, the pain of which quickly passes. According to initial sensations, it is easy to confuse it with a mosquito bite. Rarely, when the victim immediately seeks help, as the consequences occur only after 6-8 hours. What symptoms appear?

• At first, painless, after a few hours, the bite begins to throb with acute pain.
• The area of ​​damage swells, turns red, becomes hot.
• Gradually, redness and swelling intensifies, spreads - under the influence of the toxin, the lesion grows.
• The head begins to hurt, weakness, nausea appears, the temperature may rise - symptoms of intoxication.
• A blister appears at the site of skin punctures, which then bursts, forming an ulcer.

It is at this stage that the victims, as a rule, seek medical help. If it is delayed, local tissue necrosis (death) may occur. The bite location changes radically, turning into a wound, after two days.

Note! Necrosis is a severe, ugly outward wound when, under the influence of poison, the flesh actually rots. More precisely, the poison provokes a secondary infection, multiple inflammations that disable the vital systems of the body. The treatment of such complications after the bite of a hermit spider takes from 3-6 months to 3 years. A noticeable scar remains at the site of damage.

According to doctors, this poison is so strong that death does not occur only due to a tiny dose of toxin. But if he gets into the body of an allergic person, a child, a person with weak immunity, the outcome is unpredictable.

Urgent Care

What to do if bitten by a brown or any other poisonous spider?

1. The wound should be washed with soap with cold water, disinfected with an antiseptic.
2. Try to squeeze out poison from a puncture of the skin.
3. To slow the spread of the toxin, apply ice to the bite from time to time.
4. Above the affected area, it is recommended to apply a tight bandage or tourniquet.
5. You can take an antibiotic, drink an anti-allergic drug.

These are just emergency measures that do not cancel the visit to the doctor. At least for safety.

Potential Hazard Precautions

The possibility of being bitten by a brown spider can be minimized if precautionary measures are taken.

• Inspect clothing, shoes before putting on, bed - before going to bed.
• When cleaning the room, working in the yard, garden, wear gloves.
• Do not litter residential, utility rooms with empty boxes, unnecessary things, paper, rags.
• Install mosquito nets on the windows, keep the doors closed.
• "Do not breed" in the house of flies, mosquitoes and other insects that attract arachnid hunters.

And finally. Before you go to an unfamiliar country, take an interest in its poisonous fauna.

Features of a hermit spider, help with a bite: