Brown Recluse: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Creepy Crawlies · day 2 of 7

Five facts

1. Most spiders have eight eyes, but the brown recluse has six, arranged in pairs.
2. If a brown recluse loses a leg to escape an attack, the leg never grows back, even after later moults.
3. In 2001, more than 2,000 brown recluses were removed from one Kansas home. The four residents were never harmed.
4. Most web-building spiders stay home, but brown recluses leave their hideouts at night to go hunting.
5. When threatened, a brown recluse usually flees, and may even play dead.

The quiz

1. How many eyes does a brown recluse have?

• Eight
• Four
• Six (correct)
• Ten

A brown recluse has six eyes arranged in pairs.

2. What happens to a leg a brown recluse drops to escape?

• It grows back within a week
• It never grows back (correct)
• It grows back at the next moult
• It turns into silk

A lost leg is never regrown, even after later moults.

3. What happened to the four residents of the Kansas home full of brown recluses?

• They were bitten daily
• They moved out in a week
• They were never harmed (correct)
• They were bitten once

The four residents were never harmed, even with more than 2,000 spiders in the house.

4. When does a brown recluse leave its lair to hunt?

• At night (correct)
• At noon
• Only after rain
• In winter only

It leaves its lair at night to hunt.

5. What does a threatened brown recluse usually do?

• It attacks
• It jumps far away
• It builds a web
• It flees (correct)

When threatened, it usually flees, and may even play dead.

More about the Brown Recluse

Same week

All lessons

Nature documentaries