# Loxosceles reclusa handling



## buthus (May 20, 2007)

Had a great day at the bugfair.  Drove over with Neshan (Nbond1986) and his cousin Earl and met up with Andrew (cacoseraph) then Andrew and I hung out at my place talkin' bout everything plus the kitchen sink and played a bit with some verts.

Anyway... I've expanded my "must hold a Latro to hang in my spider room" rule to include Loxosceles.  Now one has a choice and I think thats more than fair. :?    ... 
Andrew chose reclusa, so I pulled out my box o'reclusa and Andrew had may fav girl wandering round his hand in a sec flat.  I've handled this particular girl, but never had a comfortable enough situation where I felt that the camera was a grab able and doable thing ...when they get on your hands they just keep a movin'... relentlessly!   
He got some pics with his camera and then I lit the scene and broke out mine.  Bummer though...for some DAMN reason when I set the camera to auto focus and he passed the cutie onto me the damn pics never wrote to the f'n card.  <_<  Not sure what the f happened. So once again ...reclusa+me+camera just wont come true!   BUT, got some semi-decent shots of our "handle everything" hero getting to know one of my fav girls ...and adding his reclusa notch in his belt.   B)     WAY more handle time than I have ever allowed for myself.  She's such a sweetie plus Andrew seems to be able to charm the pants off any invert.   
































oh... almost forgot.  You shouldn't handle "dangerous" spiders blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.


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## cacoseraph (May 20, 2007)

ah. i don't even know if i should bother to upload my cam's pics now


it was a blast.  i have to say these are not the easiest of bugs to free handle. she never really stopped moving and never really got tired the way tarantulas do.  very fun, though.






zoom












zoom

edit:
oh yeah, you shouldnt do dangerous type stuff


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## buthus (May 20, 2007)

I forgot to set my camera to my preset white balance setting I use for those energy-saving bulbs I use in my room.  Even after some quick color correction, your hands have a NASTY yellow.  Spider is almost right, but skin color should be somewhere between your first pic and the pics I took.  Oh well. 

And cool!  Your 2nd and 3rd pic is me!     Finally came together!


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## cacoseraph (May 20, 2007)

buthus said:


> I forgot to set my camera to my preset white balance setting I use for those energy-saving bulbs I use in my room.  Even after some quick color correction, your hands have a NASTY yellow.  Spider is almost right, but skin color should be somewhere between your first pic and the pics I took.  Oh well.
> 
> And cool!  Your 2nd and 3rd pic is me!     Finally came together!


ah... i know i don't live that healthy of a lifestyle... but i didn't think i was quite that jaundiced, heh


ah, stupid me, i'm tired. i meant to say that the last two pics are buthus and not me. i'm doing a bunch of things at once... and i'm not very good at it =P


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## David_F (May 20, 2007)

Your hands are gonna rot and fall off now.  

Cool pics, guys.


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## NBond1986 (May 20, 2007)

nice guys!

wish id stuck around a bit longer and gotten to help


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## Crotalus (May 20, 2007)

You need to cut your nails


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## P. Novak (May 20, 2007)

:clap: Awesome pics guys and looks like a great handling! I envy you two lol. I'll all the "dangerous" handle up to you guys, and I'll sit back and enjoy.


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## buthus (May 20, 2007)

> ah... i know i don't live that healthy of a lifestyle... but i didn't think i was quite that jaundiced, heh


Ok... made em a bit better.  If you shoot with these energy-saver bulbs without adjusting white balance, its pretty much impossible to color correct ...or at least very difficult without getting in there and picking away at it manually.  Whats really "cool" is when I have it on my room preset and then forget to disable that and then go outside in daylight and shoot ...results are like a photo shoot on K-PAX.   




> NBond1986 	nice guys!
> 
> wish id stuck around a bit longer and gotten to help


You're so close by... and you're always welcome to come on over and play with my reclusa (oohh.. that sounds kinky :?   )


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## william (May 20, 2007)

i find those in my house all the time,manly in the bathtube. cool pics


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## P. Novak (May 20, 2007)

I figure you guys would know, but for some reason I was never able to find a sure answer... Can you find L. reclusa in California? Is there a map that shows their region?


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## buthus (May 20, 2007)

Novak said:


> I figure you guys would know, but for some reason I was never able to find a sure answer... Can you find L. reclusa in California? Is there a map that shows their region?


Loxosceles reclusa (Brown Recluse)
Interior southern and central midwest.  IDd from Maine to n.Florida and west to  SoCal.  I would say chances of finding reclusa in SoCal will be *almost* nil.  BUT, the are spreading on their own and even faster via mankind.

Loxosceles laeta (Chilean Recluse)
Probably org native to Chile.  Spreading like wild fire around the world.
Discovered in Cambridge Mass in 1960
Discovered in Los Angeles in 1969 and have become fairly "common" in SoCal.

Loxosceles deserta (Desert Recluse)
Desert/foothill habitats of SW USA.  Central to SoCal, s.Utah, west and s.Arizona.

Loxosceles devia (Texas Recluse)
Found in a dark Texas bar, usually around cheap, warm Mexican beer.
Also found in Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas.  

Loxosceles arizonica (Arizona Recluse)
Central to southern Arizona.  Small populations IDd around SoCal/Nevada border.

Loxosceles apachea (Apache Recluse)
SW Arizona, s.NewMexico, extreme w.Texas.

Loxosceles blanda (Big Bend Recluse)
W.Texas, se.New Mexico.

Loxosceles sabina (Tuscan Recluse)
Tuscan Arizona area in Pima County

Loxosceles russelli (Russell Recluse)
Death Valley

Loxosceles palma (Baja Recluse)
Palm canyons of SoCal and Baja.

Loxosceles martha (Martha Recluse)
Whitewater Canyon and Palm Springs California

Loxosceles kaiba (Grand Canyon Recluse)
GCNP Arizona. Kaibab Plateau.

Loxosceles rufescens (Mediterranean Recluse)
Native to Mediterranean area n.Africa/s.Europe. Spreading like wild fire via mankind. IDd in eastern and central USA.  Isolated areas of Texas, Colorado, Utah and California.  

Source: (not word for word, but mostly)
_Recuse Spiders & Hobo Spider In North America_  Dr. Robert Breene III  1999.


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## cacoseraph (May 20, 2007)

and believe yous me, i am on the look out for laeta and deserta. been looking for over two years now!

i have heard laeta is larger and has more gnarly venom than reclusa!
ironic if true, since i *think* laeta means nice =P

lol@devia

as far as finding reclusa... i pretty firmly believe there are no established colonies in SoCA or even particularily close.  but we have a number of niche species that would be fun to collect.

is death valley a nono place?

deserta looks like a light light version of reclusa
http://dermatology.cdlib.org/DOJvol5num2/special/vetter-3.jpeg
apparently deserta has less toxic venom than reclusa?


laeta is big
http://www.venombyte.com/venom/spiders/chilean_recluse.asp
cool page on laeta


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## P. Novak (May 20, 2007)

buthus said:


> Loxosceles reclusa (Brown Recluse)
> Interior southern and central midwest.  IDd from Maine to n.Florida and west to  SoCal.  I would say chances of finding reclusa in SoCal will be *almost* nil.  BUT, the are spreading on their own and even faster via mankind.
> 
> Loxosceles laeta (Chilean Recluse)
> ...



Oh sweet thanks! So according to that they aren't, but could be in the future. How is the venom of the other species of Loxosceles, is the same as reclusa, more, or less?


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## buthus (May 21, 2007)

> So according to that they aren't, but could be in the future.


More like...yes they have been spotted in CA (probably), but until you run into one, you're not going to run into one.    





> is death valley a nono place?


I do believe those are found exclusively in Death Valley.  



> and believe yous me, i am on the look out for laeta and deserta. been looking for over two years now!


It would be a great excuse for a road trip to set out and search for one or even a few of these species ...especially the species that are limited to a small habitat area.  

When we were in Arizona we toured the Colossal Cave in Pima county (huge dry cave system).  They mentioned that there are "brown recluse" in the cave.  They dont let ya crawl around turning sht over, but I hung back many times ...looking.  Never saw any signs of life, let alone any of those elusive Loxosceles sabina (?).  Was a bit bummed, but Im not really that unrealistic.  It would take some time and searching to spot something like that within such a huge dark place.    ...or maybe better yet...slip the current management a big bill and business card... "call me when ya catch some!"


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## buthus (May 21, 2007)

> is death valley a nono place?


Andrew, sorry glanced over your question without understanding what u were actually asking.  Assuming you mean that Death Valley is a protected park area? 
It is a national park, so probably a "hope that snoopy ranger doesnt look in my backpack" kinda place.    
I'd like to get out there one of these days.  Gotta time it right or else it will be far too hot to find anything or just winter in the desert.  Supposed to be an amazing place ...actually been there some time back, but not long enough to explore.  

Record high: 134F
Record high over time: 129F or above for 5 consecutive days!! (in 1917 52 days 120F or above w/43 of them consecutive) 
Record low: 15F
Highest ground temp: 201F !  Ground temp is ave 40% higher than the air temp!
Ave rainfall: 2.5" /year
Record rainfall: 4.54"

Just glancing at some interesting stuff:
http://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/upload/Weather.pdf

Ahhh... We gotta go man!     Bet theres some nasty ass scorps to be found out there!  Be a blast watching u get tagged by one after having hiked 5 miles in 120F.    Now thats entertainment.


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## rmlee (May 22, 2007)

wow, I guess if any of mine happen to find their way on my shirt or something, just shake em loose or what??

Certain days I'm really paranoid of getting bit.
So far, my few posts are about this spider because they are the dominant ones in the attic,garage, and inside.  
I hope that's ok as this isn't my hobby.
Lurking around a bit, looking at peoples collections and pics, and a thread like this helps me feel a little better about my situation.

I'm assuming you just put your hand down into her home and she walks off you?  How many do you own?


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## 8+) (May 22, 2007)

Your best defense is to know their habits and develop good habits of your own:

*Don't drop your clothes on the floor. If you do, be sure to look for them in the folds of the clothing especially before putting them back on.

*Knock out your shoes.

*Check your sheets before getting in bed, especially if you haven't been in it in a while

*Get rid of your bed skirt. It gives them better access to your bed. Move your bed away from the wall

*Be mindful when cleaning out old stuff, or working in wood piles, etc...

I've read that they can only bite you if pressed against the skin, as their chelicerae are fused. Sounds odd and I'm not sure it's true, but if it is, it does  make them a lot less scary.


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## buthus (May 22, 2007)

I hope to put together a vid in the near future (time, time, time  ) that shows more behavior.  Im not convinced when it comes to the "they cant bite unless squashed downwards" theory.  I love watching them attack prey.  They often use multiple strikes...head on bite, circle a bit, bite, circle a bit, bite and so on.  They tend to bite and pull back ...thus I conclude that they rely on their venom to take down prey ...opposed to how many other species use physical force or a combo of.  
I believe people occasionally get bit by these.  After dealing with them the way I have, I agree with many in thinking that it takes some sort of entrapment or physical situation to make them bite.  BUT...there are always exceptions to every rule ...and I do believe individual (or broods of) spiders have the beginnings of primordial personality (so to speak).  Maybe one out of a thousand homes so happen to have a group of biters ...just a thought ...you colder more logical scientist types dont need to jump down my throat over this one ...I understand its a reach ...but IMO reaching often brings back interesting things.



> wow, I guess if any of mine happen to find their way on my shirt or something, just shake em loose or what??


 Just redirect it so it doesnt get up into your hair or someplace u cant deal with it.  Grab another piece of material or something it will climb on and let it do so.  Take it outside and let it go.  If you have a neighbor that bugs you...let it go in their yard.    



> How many do you own?


 I had a bunch, but used them to butter up trades.  Up til a few weeks ago I was keeping 5, but noticed one died for some odd reason ...odd, because they are tough to kill.  They rarely need food or H2O.  
Id love to get some other species ...esp some Africans ..very pretty compared to the US flavors.


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