The Brown Reluse

Meet Loxosceles reclusa, (aka brown recluse or violin spider)  a well-known member of the family Sicariidae (formerly placed in “Loxoscelidae”). This guy was just under my elbow which I placed atop the fence post to steady my camera. They are generally not aggressive until provoked like getting trapped in your shirt or boot. I seem to be immune to the venom as I have been bitten twice without any reaction but others bitten on the ranch have developed necrosis. The bite will look like two small blisters that eventually join together as one, at this time you need to get medical help unless you like quarter sized dimples or larger of missing skin. The ranch never had a brown recluse population until we started importing some of our hay from out of state.