Recluse Spider Season Is a Myth

 

Recluse Spider Season Is a Myth

The venom of recluse spiders can be dangerous, but the idea of there being a “season” when these arachnids invade homes and bite is unhelpful and wrong.

THIS STORY ORIGINALLY appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.

Summer arrives, and with it comes an arachnophobic furor—frantic reports about the intrusion of recluse spiders into our homes. Also known as fiddlebacks or violin spiders, these are arachnids of the genus Loxosceles. They’re found in warm areas across the world, including many parts of the USA, and particularly in Mexico, which has the greatest diversity of recluse spiders in the world, with 40 different species.

Headlines declare that the start of May is “recluse spider season,” and that people need to watch out. It’s true that in their fangs these spiders carry a potent venom, which under certain circumstances can be lethal, but really they are elusive creatures that almost always seek to remain unnoticed. We should not get carried away with anti-fiddleback hysteria, much less replicate it. Such anxiety is unscientific, says Diego Barrales Alcalá, the creator of the arachnid identification platform @Arachno_Cosas. The idea of a supposed season of recluse spiders, promulgated by the media, lacks evidence.

WIRED Recluse Spider Season Is a Myth