Image of Brown Recluse

Description:

Under three increasingly greater magnifications, this being the lowest at 183X (see PHIL 10089, 10090), what is depicted here is an unidentified pore located on the dorsal abdomen of a venomous brown recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa, found inhabiting a Kentucky farm. Note the material surrounding the pore’s orifice, and as the magnification increases, it becomes evident that the material is composed of an unidentified bacterial biofilm. It is not known if these were existing symbiotically upon the spider’s exoskeleton, or if they were pathologic in nature, signifying manifestations of a progressive disease process? See PHIL 10086 for a black and white version of this image.

L. reclusa is sometimes referred to as the violin or fiddle spider, for on its cephalothorax one will see what appears to be coloration in the shape of these stringed instruments, which is quite evident in the color photograph PHIL 1125, depicting a live specimen.
Created: 2007