ARANEAE (SPIDERS)
Araneae, comprising spiders, are one of the most intimidating orders of insects to the casual observer. This predatory group is made up of roughly 3,400 species in the United States and Canada. Some are webspinners while others are not, and some are completely harmless (and beneficial) while others are not. Classic examples of spiders include garden-loving Orb Weavers, the common House Spider, the identifiable Black Widow, the mighty Wolf Spider, and the venomous Brown Recluse. Eight legs typically differentiate Araneae insects from other orders.
Other Names: "Fiddle Back Spider; Violin Spider; Fiddleback"
The Taxonomic Breakdown is the scientific way to categorize a partocular insect species from its largest group (Animalia) to its smallest (variable). The Genus and Species categorizations taken together make up the species' scientific name shown above, in this case Loxosceles reclusa.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Sicariidae
Genus: Loxosceles
Species: reclusa
Abdomen: Has a noticeably large / oversized abdomen.
Biting: This insect is known to bite. Exercise caution.
Caution: Caution should be exercised around this insect.
Harmful: Known to be harmful in one way or another.
Indoors: Can be found indoors; inside dwellings.
Outdoors: Typically found across the great outdoors.
Poisonous: Known to be poisonous to humans; caution advised.
Eight-Legged: Eight legs are common to this insect.
Small / Tiny: Noticeably small to the naked eye.
Venomous: Known to be venomous to humans.
The Brown Recluse Spider is also known by these other names:
Fiddle Back Spider :: Violin Spider :: Fiddleback
The Brown Recluse Spider has been identified by site users by the following descriptors:
biting venomous harmful yellow brown black eight-legged indoors outdoors small poisonous toxic hairy fuzzy abdomen eyes grey gray
The general likelihood of encountering this insect based on a given month of the year in the state of Tennessee. Generally, the best sighting months are June through August with peak occurring in July.
41F
JAN
44F
FEB
53F
MAR
62F
APR
70F
MAY
78F
JUN
80F
JUL
79F
AUG
73F
SEP
62F
OCT
52F
NOV
44F
DEC
Below is a representation of the 'smallest-small' and 'largest-large' sizes commonly associated with the Brown Recluse Spider. Due to monitor differences, sizes may not be exact on your particular screen. Conversions to millimeters are provided for convenience.
Lowest-Low:
0.28 inches (7 mm)
Highest-High:
0.39 inches (10 mm)
It has a typical diet of the following: insects.
Below you will find the colors most commonly associated with the Brown Recluse Spider. Both Primary and Secondary colors are represented in the showcase. Due to monitor differences, colors may not be exact representations.
BROWN
YELLOW
GRAY
BLACK
The Brown Recluse Spider can be found in the following Tennessee counties:
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