Non-native spiders cause problems

Non-native spiders cause problems
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Brown recluse spiders are the stuff of legends.

The mysterious spiders are, as their name suggests, reclusive. But when disturbed, the brown recluse can inflict a dangerous and gruesome bite.

On Sept. 4, a Harding County man died from “complications of a spider bite,” according to his obituary. The exact species of the spider isn’t known, but few spiders could cause such an outcome aside from the brown recluse.

“It could have been a brown recluse,” said Billy Fuller, an entomologist with South Dakota State University in Brookings. “That is one of the most lethal ones.”

The brown recluse’s venom is toxic to human tissue. A bite usually causes tissue death, or necrosis, at the site of the bite. The venom can also trigger an immune response in the body, which can result in kidney damage, destruction of red blood cells and even death.

Brown recluse spiders are not aggressive and prefer to stay away from humans, but their ability to inflict damage has built them an infamous reputation. 

Although it seems as if everyone has a brown recluse story, odds are most of the spiders starring in such tales are not the brown recluse, Fuller said. Brown recluses are brown, like so many other spiders, including the common wolf spider. The mix-up is common and understandable, he said.

Brian Patrick, an arachnologist with Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, said people also confuse the brown recluse with either a wolf spider or a yellow sac spider. “There are no documented cases of a brown recluse in South Dakota,” he said. 

The best way to tell a brown recluse from a regular and harmless spider is through the eyes and markings. The brown recluse has a violin-shaped marking on its back - thus the nickname fiddle-back. The brown recluse also has three pairs of eyes, an unusual trait for a spider. Admittedly, both of those physical characteristics require a closer look with a magnifying glass, a task most people will likely avoid.

Luckily for South Dakotans, the odds of seeing a brown recluse are low. The spider is not native to the state, Patrick said. Brown recluse spiders live naturally in southern states, such as Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri. However, they occasionally hitch rides in boxes, packaging, food and hay, showing up unexpectedly in other states. As society becomes more and more mobile, such transplants could become more common, Fuller said.  

“They do exist in our state very, very rarely,

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