| Author | Content |
canely83
singapore
(Singapore)
August 26, 2008
12:41 AM Post #5468705
| is this spider poisonous? cause human flesh rotting by its poisonous bite? 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
suunto
Sinks Grove, WV
August 26, 2008
6:41 AM Post #5468998
| Where was this photo taken? It does resemble a recluse spider (Loxosceles spp.), but I cannot see the eye pattern, a key diagnostic feature. There is one species in this genus, Loxosceles rufescens, that has been reported from the Australasian region, but its role in necrotic arachnadism is unclear. As an aside, with the exception of members of the family Uloboridae (see [HYPERLINK@en.wikipedia.org]), all spiders are venomous; only a very few are capable of causing serious harm to humans. |
canely83
singapore
(Singapore)
August 26, 2008
8:32 AM Post #5469346
| my friend send it to me over the email and i wonder if what is this ID. enclosed with the mail are the horrible human hand wound caused by the spider. i thought this could be a spam mail. |
maccionoadha
Halifax, MA
(Zone 6a)
August 26, 2008
11:19 AM Post #5469959
| This looks like a Loxosceles reclusa(Violin Spider/Brown Recluse Spider). When bitten, the Brown Recluse Spider bite causes massive cell damage, which may take months to heal. |
DarkWolf74
Murray, KY
August 27, 2008
1:43 PM Post #5474642
| Yup.. Lovely recluse.. We've got these around the house. As their name sake states, they're a reclusive spider which prefers to run and hide at any vibration. I've got glue traps down to keep them in check as spraying is useless. Unlike most spiders, they walk high and rarely brush the ground they walk on if at all.
I'd been bit on the leg by one and can attest for the long heal time. Though I never went to the doctor or anything for it. It's been a couple months. The bite wound is about the size of an eraser head on a pencil, causes no pain, but just won't heal right.
My understanding is that with anything, some people may be more susceptible to the venom, plus you have to factor in the size of the spider and amount of venom injected during the bite. Most wounds however are small, dime sized, and often in groups since they try and bite several times.
I don't think they're distributed through Singapore and if seen at all it would be due to shipping contamination. Another email was going around with the exact same photo claiming they were in Canada as well, which was a total farce.
As for us down here, we're lucky enough to have them (twirls finger).. Still wondering why at our old house across town (2 miles) there were none, but this place we're in now has tons. Hmm. |
suunto
Sinks Grove, WV
August 27, 2008
3:48 PM Post #5475196
| There may be more misinformation on the web about brown recluse spiders than any other single arthropod that I am aware of. I suggest that all concerned about this spider review the following articles on the subject:
1. “Convenient culprit: Myths surround the brown recluse spider” at [HYPERLINK@www.ama-assn.org]
2. “Misdiagnosis of brown recluse spider bite” at [HYPERLINK@www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov]
3. “Causes of Necrotic Wounds other than Brown Recluse Spider Bites” at [HYPERLINK@spiders.ucr.edu]
The bottom line is that any report of this spider occurring outside its known endemic range must be taken with an extremely large grain of salt. I would not rely on medical doctors being cited as ‘proof’ as they appear quite unreliable when it comes to identification of spiders.
|
kitten0115
La Vergne, TN
August 27, 2008
9:47 PM Post #5476441
| What are they misdiagnosed for. The article states a wolf spider but they look completely different. |
suunto
Sinks Grove, WV
August 27, 2008
9:57 PM Post #5476475
| If you read all the articles, you will see that there are several different spiders that have been mistaken for recluse spiders, some of which can be quite similar in appearance - see the southern house spider (Kukulcania hibernalis) at [HYPERLINK@www.spiderzrule.com] as an example. Also, 'bites' in the absence of any spider have been blamed on recluse spiders in areas where the spider is not known to occur. |
canely83
singapore
(Singapore)
August 28, 2008
7:48 AM Post #5477654
| i saw a lot of pictures on the net about the wound caused by this spider and you could really see the bone!!! |
maccionoadha
Halifax, MA
(Zone 6a)
August 28, 2008
1:34 PM Post #5478951
| canley83, are these the photos in the email you saw? [HYPERLINK@kcfac.kilgore.cc.tx.us]
If so it may or may not be a Brown Recluse Bite. The victim wasn't sure. [HYPERLINK@www.snopes.com]
This message was edited Aug 28, 2008 1:40 PM |
canely83
singapore
(Singapore)
August 28, 2008
10:39 PM Post #5481183
| maccionoadha, YES. those are the pics i saw. Horrible!!!
|
maccionoadha
Halifax, MA
(Zone 6a)
August 30, 2008
12:40 PM Post #5487136
| The victim wasn't sure if it was a Brown Recluse bite or some other type bite. Some doctors said it was, others said not. It was a combination of a bite and subsequent infection that caused such massive cellular damage. |
trackinsand
(Zone 9a)
August 30, 2008
9:57 PM Post #5489007
| the spider shown in the first picture is a brown recluse. the "violin" is plainly visible to the naked eye. we had plenty of them in missouri. i can't imagine the recluse being confused with a southern house spider. we have them here in florida and let me tell you, they are GInormous! some people are more prone to a very bad reaction to the recluse bite than others and supposedly once you are bitten, you are kind of immune to any more bites. i don't know that for a fact, just something i was told years ago. |
DarkWolf74
Murray, KY
September 3, 2008
12:52 AM Post #5501494
| This is so far the best resource I'd found detailing the Brown Recluse and the effects of bites.
[HYPERLINK@www.emedicinehealth.com]
trackinsand, so did you have a major problem with them in Missouri? I just checked one of our glue traps that's been down for about 2 months and counted 15 browns. |
trackinsand
(Zone 9a)
September 3, 2008
12:29 PM Post #5503024
| i had an old two story brick home (1922). they were too numerous to count, from basement to top floor. after a while you just get used to shaking out clothing and shoes before you put them on. i was never bitten in all the years i lived there, nor were any other residents of the house. they are a very secretive spider and preferred dark closets. i WAS bitten by a black widow after moving to florida. now that was an experience i never want to relive! talk about pain and sickness...
i've always heard that missouri and kentucky were the worst states for the browns. |
ceejaytown
The Woodlands, TX
(Zone 9a)
September 3, 2008
3:33 PM Post #5503769
| I lived in Oklahoma in a house infested with them (a new house). For 9 years. And none of us were ever bitten. We were careful, and I put out bunches of those sticky traps which would fill up with the recluses, and then we'd change them out and start all over again. My daughter lives in Tennessee (in an old house) and she has the same story. I can't imagine any place being worse... :-)
I've lived here for 16 years now, and so far so good. I have yet to see one - here at home or at Extension. |
