stephan.com
scattered thoughts

(originally posted as a comment to a friend’s blog entry about the fictitious Camel Spider)

However, there is one that you might actually have to worry about. You’re pretty safe in California, but the Brown Recluse is real. It doesn’t kill you, but the bite is dis. gus. ting. I read a story a few years on the net, with pictures. Basically, the bite sort of spreads and dissolves your skin over a period of days or weeks, if not properly treated, until you get a hole like a baseball in you. “necrotic arachnidism”

It’s a modest size spider, not huge. “From the size of a dime up to a half dollar.” You might not notice if a small one crawled on you.

These spiders have been reported throughout the United States but are found more often in the South. They are nocturnal hunters occupying dry, dark areas, such as attics, closets, and woodpiles. BRSs are not aggressive toward humans. Bites occur when the spiders are forced into contact, such as when a person is cleaning out the attic or rolls over on it in bed. Most people do not feel the bite and never see the spider.