Sometimes nicknamed “the violin spider”, “the fiddleback spider”, or “the brown fiddler”, the brown recluse spider is a species of arachnid known for its peculiar coloration, six eyes (instead of the normal eight that most other spiders have) and its venomous bite. The brown recluse is native to the mid-western and southern regions of the United States; most commonly being found in Georgia, Texas, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska.

Male brown recluses are known for leaving their webs at night to hunt, while females utilize more passive hunting methods and stay and wait in their webs to trap prey.
Brown recluses can often be found in secluded areas (they are reclusive, hence the name) like sheds, closets, garages, plenum, cellars, unused beds, and piles of clothing. They rarely cross paths with humans, and despite legends, aren’t aggressive unless threatened. In fact, most bites occur only when they are directly pressed against someone’s skin accidentally. The bite is quite formidable however and can lead to terrible illness in some cases and skin necrosis (dead flesh) in others. A bite might not even be felt at first but after an hour or two can be quite painful, and the pain can last for almost 2 days. Secondary symptoms may also take some time to begin. The spider’s venom contains hemotoxin similar to some snake venoms, like that of pit vipers. But they don’t bite people nearly as often as was once believed. Actually, most reported bites are actually misdiagnoses.