Myth: idiopathic wounds are often due to brown recluse or other spider bites throughout the United States.

Abstract

Spiders, especially brown recluses (Loxosceles reclusa) (figure 1), are frequently incriminated as causative agents in idiopathic wounds, even though diagnoses are usually made solely on the basis of dermatologic symptoms. Rarely is a spider seen inflicting the wound or captured while biting, and it is difficult to either prove or disprove spider participation in the event. The biologic distribution of the brown recluse and related recluse species indicates that many diagnoses made on cases occurring in the western United States are incorrect.1 Figure 1 Dorsal view of the brown recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa. The most consistent diagnostic feature for identification is the pattern of 6 eyes, grouped in pairs, with 1 anterior pair and 2 lateral pairs (most spiders have 8 eyes in 2 rows of 4). Although ... SOURCES OF INFORMATION Because of my research interests in spider identification and medically important spiders, I have been avidly studying recluse spiders and their occurrence in the western United States. My experience is greatest in California, but the information presented here is pertinent to northern and western states as well. In almost a decade of research, I have found verification of fewer than 10 brown recluse specimens in California in more than 40 years of records. Sources include medical and arachnologic literature and correspondence with scores of arachnologists, county entomologists, vector control personnel, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, which handles all exotic pest identifications in the state. Most verified specimens were individuals intercepted from facilities receiving goods from out of state. There are no populations of brown recluses in California.