---
title: "Brown Recluse"
description: "Loxosceles reclusa — Insects & spiders. The brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa, Sicariidae, formerly placed in a family \"Loxoscelidae\") is a recluse spider with necrotic venom."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/brown-recluse
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Brown Recluse

> Loxosceles reclusa — Insects & spiders. The brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa, Sicariidae, formerly placed in a family "Loxoscelidae") is a recluse spider with necrotic venom.

- Scientific name: *Loxosceles reclusa*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: `urban` (Towns & gardens)
- iNaturalist observations: 9633
- Wikidata: [Q284352](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q284352)
- iNaturalist taxon: [50181](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50181)

## Names

- en: Brown Recluse
- de: Braune Einsiedlerspinne
- es: Araña violinista café norteamericana
- fr: Recluse brune
- nl: Vioolspin
- pl: Pustelnik brunatny

## Countries with the most observations

US (8522), MX (3)

## Summary

The brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa, Sicariidae, formerly placed in a family "Loxoscelidae") is a recluse spider with necrotic venom. Similar to those of other recluse spiders, their bites sometimes require medical attention. The brown recluse is one of two spiders in North America with dangerous venom, the other being the black widow.
Brown recluse spiders are usually between 6 and 20 millimetres (0.24 and 0.79 in), but may grow larger. While typically light to medium brown, they range in color from whitish to dark brown or blackish gray. The cephalothorax and abdomen are not necessarily the same color. These spiders…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_recluse_spider

## Photo

![Brown Recluse](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/brown-recluse/medium.jpg)

Photo: iamfindingplants · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/125467825

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/brown-recluse?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).