Brown Recluse Garden Spiders 4

American Recluse Garden Spiders Eleven varieties of Recluse Garden Spiders are native to the United States and a few non-natives have become established in circumscribed areas of the country. The brown recluse spider is the proper normal name for only one varieties, Loxosceles reclusa. It is the most widespread of the North American Recluse Garden Spiders and lives in the south central Mid West from Nebraska to Ohio and south through Texas to Georgia. Although the brown recluse does not live in California, we do have four varieties of native Recluse Garden Spiders. The most normal Californian recluse spider is the desert recluse, L. deserta. It is found mostly in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts, in the lower hills of the lower San Joaquin Valley, and in adjacent areas of Mexico, all of which are sparsely populated by people. In older literature, this spider was referred to as L. unicolor. There are additional varieties (L. russelli, L. palma, L. martha) but they are so unnormal that they are of scientific interest only. In addition to these native varieties, a South American recluse spider, Loxosceles laeta (pronounced "LEE-ta"), has become established in portions of Los Angeles (Alhambra, Sierra Madre, Monterey Park). This spider, however, seems to be confined to a very limited area in Los Angeles County even though it has lived there for over 30 years. Also, occasional interceptions of the Mediterranean recluse, L. rufescens, are found in commercial goods shipped from out-of-state, but no populations of this spider have been found in California. Life History Characteristics Recluse Garden Spiders, as their name implies, are reclusive. These nocturnal spiders emerge from their retreats at evening hours and actively hunt down prey or may wait for prey to land in the small area several inches from their retreat. Although they do not build webs to capture prey, they do use silk to build a retreat in which they hide during the day. As dawn approaches, they may seek shelter in dark places such as clothing or shoes. Also, mature males roam in search of females. It is these two behaviors that can bring them into contact with people. In nature, recluses are found in cracks and crevices in and under rocks. Recluses have very much benefited from human-altered environments where they are readily found under refuse containers, plywood, tarps, or rubber tires, in boxes, etc. They are synanthropic (found in association with people) and therefore are considered a "house" spider. In fact, in South America the recluse varieties have normal names that translate as "the spider behind the picture" or "the spider in the corner."

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