sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

It's a rainy day today so I searched around the basement to see what I could find and I came across a small long departed Brown Recluse spider. For some reason they seem to be attracted to my home for I often find them here.

This one was quite dried up and as well as quite dirty. I find it amazing how much sticks to them as well as to other insects that I have found and you can see every spec of dust and crud when viewed at 10X.

(Download)

Virgil Loc: The Hoosier State

Very DANGEROUS spider!!!

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Yes, they surely can be quite nasty. Not all of their bites will be flesh eating however I'd rather not press my luck. I can identify them by the "Fiddle on their back" which you can see part of it on this front view. They also have six eyes so between those two features you know to take care around them.

My better half has a 10-second rule, "You better come get it before I step on it". I catch them and preserve them (I keep empty containers and small artist paint brushes near my favorite chair). They are the only ones that I preserve where as I photograph all of the others on-the-hoof and then out they go to help keep other critters under control around the house.

tinusbum Loc: east texas

little six eyed monsters,i have lots

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Dead ones are the only ones I would handle. Nice shot.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Keep those down there with you and send up only the cute ones..!

entobob53 Loc: St. Peters, Missouri

They live six months with no food or water. Most of their diet is dead already. If you live with these the best thing to do is eliminate bed skirts since the bed is the number one location to be bitten. Glueboards are great tools to catch and kill them as they run around

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

I've had only sporadic encounters with them. They don't seem to be where I am currently living at all. There is our 'northern widow', a relative of the 'black widow', but even these are apparently seen farther to the north. i suppose I should be glad for these 'gaps' in the fauna.

Arthropods are magnets for crud. Their cuticle is generally covered in very tiny 'trichome' hairs and even smaller spikey decorations that you often show in your amazing close up pictures. I suppose these are there for a reason. Plus they are covered in a fine oil that is needed to retain water. When alive, of course, arthropods are always cleaning themselves to remove the dirt and maintain their essential oils. In death, they stop cleaning and we soon see the effects.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

I can't thank everyone who views and comments enough for it provides me inspiration and the desire to continue this journey.

I always learn something from the narratives which adds to my understanding of the critters I find along with their lifestyle and particulars of the species.