The Chilean recluse, a venomous species is considered to be the most harmful among the recluse spiders, with its bite even resulting in a fatality. As goes its name, it is mostly found in the South American country Chile, alongside other parts like Ecuador, Uruguay, Peru, Argentina as well as the eastern and southern parts of Brazil.
Size: Being a large recluse species, its size range between 8mm and 40mm (0.31 to 1.57 inches).
Color: Like most other recluse varieties, the Chilean recluse also has a brown body with a black line emerging from the upper part of its thorax resembling a violin. The shades may vary from light brown to tan, though the black marking at times might be completely absent.
Other Characteristic Features: Most spiders possess eight eyes, but the Chilean recluse has six, arranged in median (one) and lateral (two) pairs.
They are contained in a silken sac and at a time 40 to 50 of them are hatched.
The spiderlings emerge from the sac within a month’s time and in a short span starts being on their own.
Their webs like other recluse spiders are built in an irregular fashion, comprising of threads arranged in a disorderly fashion. These nocturnal spiders leave their webs during night time in order to hunt.
Though regarded as one of the dangerous spiders, they are non-aggressive and do not attack or bite unless disturbed. For instance, if they get on to a piece of clothing, it may be mistakenly pressed against the skin of the wearer, this is when it could get agitated and be provoked to bite.
The symptoms may vary in accordance to the intensity of the bite ranging from mild irritation and swelling to severe necrosis (death of skin cells) which may take a lot of time to heal, scarring the area deeply. Initially, the bite may be painless, though with time it might grow up to a size of about 10 inches (in severe cases). The bite has also proved fatal, with 3% to 4% casualties reported in Chile of the cases covering a span of 30 years.
Applying ice packs and aloe vera gel are some of the first aid remedies that may be implemented for initial relief. However, consult a medical practitioner at the earliest so that the future course of action may be planned.
| Other names | Corner spider, brown spider |
| Lifespan | 2 to 4 years |
| Distribution | Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, southern and eastern Brazil as well as parts of Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Vancouver and Florida. It has even been found in Australia |
| Habitat | Human dwellings, alongside wood piles, garages, sheds, closet and any area that is dry and undisturbed |
| Common predators | Smaller birds, wasps, cats and other spiders |
| Diet | Insects and other spiders |
Image Source: Chiletoday.cl, Queridarecoleta.files.wordpress.com, Spiderzrule.com, Farm1.static.flickr.com, Cdn1.medicalnewstoday.com, Bioweb.uwlax.edu, I.imgur.com, citybugs.tamu.edu
The Chilean recluse, a venomous species is considered to be the most harmful among the recluse spiders, with its bite even resulting in a fatality. As goes its name, it is mostly found in the South American country Chile, alongside other parts like Ecuador, Uruguay, Peru, Argentina as well as the eastern and southern parts of Brazil.
Size: Being a large recluse species, its size range between 8mm and 40mm (0.31 to 1.57 inches).
Color: Like most other recluse varieties, the Chilean recluse also has a brown body with a black line emerging from the upper part of its thorax resembling a violin. The shades may vary from light brown to tan, though the black marking at times might be completely absent.
Other Characteristic Features: Most spiders possess eight eyes, but the Chilean recluse has six, arranged in median (one) and lateral (two) pairs.
They are contained in a silken sac and at a time 40 to 50 of them are hatched.
The spiderlings emerge from the sac within a month’s time and in a short span starts being on their own.
Their webs like other recluse spiders are built in an irregular fashion, comprising of threads arranged in a disorderly fashion. These nocturnal spiders leave their webs during night time in order to hunt.
Though regarded as one of the dangerous spiders, they are non-aggressive and do not attack or bite unless disturbed. For instance, if they get on to a piece of clothing, it may be mistakenly pressed against the skin of the wearer, this is when it could get agitated and be provoked to bite.
The symptoms may vary in accordance to the intensity of the bite ranging from mild irritation and swelling to severe necrosis (death of skin cells) which may take a lot of time to heal, scarring the area deeply. Initially, the bite may be painless, though with time it might grow up to a size of about 10 inches (in severe cases). The bite has also proved fatal, with 3% to 4% casualties reported in Chile of the cases covering a span of 30 years.
Applying ice packs and aloe vera gel are some of the first aid remedies that may be implemented for initial relief. However, consult a medical practitioner at the earliest so that the future course of action may be planned.
| Other names | Corner spider, brown spider |
| Lifespan | 2 to 4 years |
| Distribution | Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, southern and eastern Brazil as well as parts of Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Vancouver and Florida. It has even been found in Australia |
| Habitat | Human dwellings, alongside wood piles, garages, sheds, closet and any area that is dry and undisturbed |
| Common predators | Smaller birds, wasps, cats and other spiders |
| Diet | Insects and other spiders |
Image Source: Chiletoday.cl, Queridarecoleta.files.wordpress.com, Spiderzrule.com, Farm1.static.flickr.com, Cdn1.medicalnewstoday.com, Bioweb.uwlax.edu, I.imgur.com, citybugs.tamu.edu
