Can you help w spider ID. Recently bitten by brown recluse Ithink. Never saw it but have dead spiders ai basement. Bite has progressed like brown recluse bitten 5/14. Thx!!! - Ask Extension
Can you help w spider ID.
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Can you help w spider ID. Recently bitten by brown recluse Ithink. Never saw it but have dead spiders ai basement. Bite has progressed like brown recluse bitten 5/14. Thx!!! #871961
Asked June 06, 2024, 8:30 PM EDT
Can you help w spider ID.
Douglas CountyColorado
Expert Response
Hi Gaylynn,
I am not able to make an ID based off the bite alone, or to even discern if a spider was responsible. Brown recluses are very rare in Colorado, too. I recommend you have it looked at by a medical professional as soon as possible.
I understand that bite ID is difficult w/o an actual spider capturing
This spider may have come from a piece of furniture bought initially moved from Texas. Current Temps in Colorado now would not affect.
I was previously seen by a physician on 5/21. The bite is not infected and was/is running its course.
This bite did behave like that of one of a br recluse from what I’d read :
Intense itching at the onset I had wondered if I had gotten into poison ivy or such—, Bubbling, the round bull’s-eye purpleish area with white center (white center still remains), and continue deep peeling at the site. I was lucky for no necrosis, only deep peeling. I did feel rather bad with aches and nausea after, not realizing it came from a bite.
Well here we are, almost exactly 3 mos later and I do believe I may have found a brown recluse in a basement windowsill, in a room I use as my office. The bite was seen by medical, peeled 2x, now healed with only the pink “ring” bullseye left.
Please, your opinion on the attached pic. You will need to zoom in
Gaylynn Abram
Sent with kindness from my IPhone
On Jun 10, 2024, at 10:26 AM, Ask Extension wrote:
Regarding your previous comment: if a brown recluse was responsible for the bite, it's possible that the furniture was its vector. Brown recluses in CO almost always come from individuals that emigrated from neighboring states.
The spider pictured is not a brown recluse. It is a type of funnel weaving spider (Family Agelenidae), most likely the barn funnel weaver. These spiders are harmless, and frequently inhabit undisturbed corners. I can tell because it has transverse bands on it head, and striations on its abdomen. Brown recluses have a lyre shape on their head, and a solid beige abdomen.
