All have six eyes arranged in three groups of two (dyads) and some are brownish with a darker brown characteristic violin marking on the cephalothorax.

It is found in a large area of the Midwest, west to Colorado and the New Mexico state line and east to northern Georgia.

[6] The brown recluse feeds on whatever small prey is available, and has been observed to prefer scavenging over actively hunting.

Recently, concerns have been raised regarding recluses spreading faster due to warmer air carrying them farther as a result of changing climate.

Insecticides often fail to kill the spider, instead intoxicating its nervous system and inducing erratic behavior.

[10][11] Loxosceles spiders, like Hexophthalma species, have potent tissue-destroying venoms containing the dermonecrotic agent sphingomyelinase D, which is otherwise found only in a few pathogenic bacteria.

[13] The venom of several species is capable of producing necrotic lesions that are slow to heal and may require skin grafts.

For unknown reasons, the toxicity of the venom to mammalian species varies; recluse bites may cause necrosis in humans, rabbits, and guinea pigs, but not in mice or rats.