Ruth and tweeters:

My guess is that if the bite occurred in the Pacific Northwest it was not
by the Brown Recluse Spider. Their native range extends no farther west
than Texas and no farther north than the Kansas-Nebraska border. They do
occasionally get transported to other areas in motor vehicles, but there
are no known populations in the Pacific Northwest. The only verified
record in the Pacific NW as of 1992 was one in Prosser in 1978 that came
from a trailor of household goods brought here from Kansas.

Any bite of significant severity in this area is more likely by the
aggressive house spider (Tegenaria agrestis), which is often mistaken for
the Brown Recluse by doctors and the public. And their bite can be very
severe. To quote from a Washington State University Cooperative Extension
publication on spiders (Spiders. In a series of publications called"Insect
Answers" [though spiders aren't insects]. 1992. by Roger D. Akre and E.
Paul Catts, professors of Entomology at WSU),

"The initial bite is not painful. It has been described as producing a very
slight prickling sensation. However, a small, insensitive, hard area
appears within 30 minutes or less, and is surrounded by an expanding
reddened area of 5-15 cm in diameter (2-6 inches)(Fig.8).

"Within 15-35 hours the area blisters. About 24 hours later the blisters
usually break, and the wound oozes serum. A cratered ulcer crusts over to
form a scab. Tissues beneath the scab may die and slough away. In some
cases the loss of tissue may become so severe that surgical repair is
needed. The fully developed lesion can vary from about 1/2 to 1 inch or
more in diameter. Lesions may take several months to heal, and frequently
leave a permanent scar (Fig.9).

"Systemic illness may or may not accompany the bite. However, the most
common symptom is severe headache, sometimes occurring within 30 minutes,
usually within 10 hours, that does not respond to aspirin. The headache may
persist for 2 to 7 days, and is sometimes accompanied by nausea, weakness,
tiredness, temporary loss of memory, and vision impairment. The symptoms
are similar to those experienced with migraine headaches."


[Me speaking now]: These spiders commonly occur in houses, and in woodpiles
outside the house. They produce funnel-shaped webs in the woodpile or
around the outer margins of the walls of the house. They usually do not
climb walls and woodwork, but they can climb up bedding into a bed. Bites
most often occur when someone picks up a pile of wood for their fireplace,
or a piece of clothing or bedding that was accessible to the spider. These
spiders are called "aggressive" because they are known to bite seemingly
without provocation, but most bites occur when they are pinched when
someone picks up wood, etc. as described above. One impressive trait I have
noticed is that they are very fast sprinters. They may stand in one spot
for sometime and then suddenly take off with a speed you would never
attribute to a spider. They occur on both sides of the state, and are very
common (unfortunately) here (Pullman).

You may want to contact the Coop Extension Office in Seattle for a copy of
the publication mentioned above, which has color pictures of the Brown
Recluse and the Aggressive House Spider, and pictures of the wounds at
various stages. I had Akre lecture on these spiders several years in one of
the classes I teach; pretty scary guys, these spiders.

Richard (Dick) E. Johnson
Conner Museum of Natural History
Washington State University
Pullman, WA
johnsonre at wsu.edu






>Hello Tweeters,
>A friend of mine got bitten by a Brown Recluse Spider. The problem is it
>got not diagnosed to two days after the bite.It got so bad she needs
>PLASTIC surgery on her face. Is there any one out there what can give
>information about this Spider? I figured it is pretty rare to run in to thid
>kind of insect here in Washington.
>Ruth Sullivan