Menace though it may be, the black widow spider is something of a has-been. For potency of venom, a little-known spider called the brown recluse is now No. 1. Also called the fiddler be cause of a violin-shaped mark on its head, this species is spreading across the Central and Southern states.
A closely related species in South America has been known for 80 years to cause severe and sometimes gangrenous bites, but the brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusd) was not believed to have such a potential until the late 1950s, when doctors at the University of Missouri identified it as the cause of bites that stubbornly refused to heal. In 1957, a University of Kansas instructor suffered a bite that turned gangrenous and created a wound three inches across. Physicians at the University of Arkansas saw more cases, and have made the brown recluse their specialty.
Danger in a Shoe. The brown recluse is well named, for it is a shy little creature and avoids light. It is, says Arkansas’ Dr. Calvin J. Dillaha, “potentially more dangerous than the black widow because its appearance is insignificant to the point of innocence.” It has a body not more than half an inch long. Its color varies from fawn to chocolate brown. It thrives in dark corners and crevices in barns and attics, closets and storerooms.
The brown recluse bites only when it is disturbed and feels threatened. But if it is exploring bed clothes at night, that moment may come when a man simply rolls over in his sleep. Because the bite is inconspicuous and the spider scurries away, the cause is often unsuspected. At first the venom causes only a stinging sensation, without much pain. Two to eight hours later, the pain may become intense, accompanied by nausea, joint pains, severe abdominal cramps and fever. The wound blisters, is surrounded by a hemorrhage. An ulcer may develop, followed by gangrene. The venom appears to contain a spreading factor, for the wound tends to enlarge in a downward direction.
Penchant for Hiding. The healing time, nearly always prolonged, is in proportion to the size of the ulcer. In some cases, because of the gangrene, the entire wound has to be excised. Even in less severe cases, a skin graft may be required to close it. Without such plastic surgery, victims are left with “a hole in the leg,” rather like a bullet hole. Dr. Dillaha’s team recommends that when doctors do suspect a brown recluse bite, they give the patient a heavy injection of a cortisone-type hormone, and repeat it, in stepped-down dosage, every other day for ten days. This treatment should relieve the systemic effects and reduce the danger of kidney damage, which arises from destruction of red blood cells and the release of hemoglobin into the circulation.
The present known range of the brown recluse extends from Wisconsin to Texas, and from the Carolinas to Colorado. Because of its penchant for hiding in bundles of bedding or clothing, health officials fear that vacationers may pick up the brown recluse in the infested areas and carry it to their homes in the rest of the country.
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