With my Tarantula Wolf Spider and Wasp Spider posts it seems that its all about Spiders at the moment, this isn’t intentional at all.
Today I was clearing out a space in our loft to make a new area for my new professional photo printer (more on this in the coming weeks) and I found a spider hiding. I knew immediately that it was a Brown Recluse. This is the only Spider in Portugal that can be an issue for humans even the European Black Widow or False Widow are not too bad.. It’s not a large spider and looks very harmless, however, it’s bite which is not always felt can develop into complications.
The spider has a hemotoxic venom, most of the time a bite doesn’t develop, but occasionally the bite will cause necrosis (tissue damage) and can turn very nasty. In very rare and extreme cases it can cause such a severe problem that an amputation is required, but as I say, this is the extreme.
The spider is also known as the Violin Spider due to a violin pattern on its body. I had my mobile to hand and was more concerned at catching it than grabbing a camera so I snapped a few photos. I caught it and moved it to a nearby ruin to live its life out. On return to the loft, I found another…… This type of location is perfect habitat for the Brown Recluse as it prefers dry and quiet locations. Unfortunately, this also includes shoes in wardrobes that have not been moved for a long time!
Don’t start having nightmares though as these Spiders usually retreat and hide when disturbed, it’s only a last resort that they will bite. However, if you do get bitten and feel it happen, try to catch the spider (dead or alive) and take it with you and seek medical help. The same goes for a European Black Widow too, although it’s not normally an issue. As mentioned, many times you don’t feel the bite but if you have a bite that starts to turn nasty, seek medical help.
Here it is enjoying its new home where it can live undisturbed.
