Editing Brown recluse spider (section)

==Distribution==
[[File:Brown-recluse-coin-edit.jpg|right|thumb|A large brown recluse compared to a [[Penny (United States coin)|US penny]] (diameter {{convert|0.75|in|mm|disp=or}})]]
The documented range of this species lies roughly south of a line from southeastern [[Nebraska]] through southern [[Iowa]], [[Illinois]], and [[Indiana]] to southwestern [[Ohio]]. In the southern states, it is native from central [[Texas]] to western [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and north to [[Kentucky]].<ref>
{{cite web
 | last=Jone  | first=S.C.
 | title=Brown recluse spider
 | department = Fact sheet
 | publisher=[[Ohio State University]]
 | url=http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2061.html
 | url-status=dead  | access-date=February 18, 2006
 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716133101/http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2061.html
 | archive-date=July 16, 2012
}}
</ref><ref name=NEJM2005-Vetter>
{{cite journal
 | vauthors = Swanson D, Vetter R
 | year = 2005
 | title = Bites of brown recluse spiders and suspected necrotic arachnidism
 | journal = [[New England Journal of Medicine]]
 | volume = 352 | issue = 7 | pages = 700–707
 | pmid = 15716564   | s2cid = 27932931
 | doi = 10.1056/NEJMra041184
}}
</ref>

Despite rumors to the contrary, the brown recluse spider has not established itself in California or anywhere outside its native range.<ref name=VetterMyth>{{cite web | last=Vetter |first=Rick | title=Myth of the brown recluse: Fact, fear, and loathing |website=spiders.ucr.edu |publisher=[[University of California, Riverside]] |place=Riverside, CA | url=https://spiders.ucr.edu/myth-brown-recluse-fact-fear-and-loathing | access-date=26 October 2022 }}</ref> There are other species of the genus ''[[Loxosceles]]'' native to the southwestern part of the United States, including California, which may resemble the brown recluse, but interactions between humans and the recluse species in California and the region are rare because those species' native ranges lie outside of dense human populations.<ref name=VetterMyth/> The number of "false positive" reports based on misidentifications is considerable; in a nationwide study where people submitted spiders that they thought were brown recluses, of 581 from California only one was a brown recluse—submitted by a family that moved from Missouri and brought it with them (compared to specimens submitted from Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma, where between 75% and 90% were recluses).<ref>
{{cite journal
 | last = Vetter | first = R.S.
 | year = 2005
 | title = Arachnids submitted as suspected brown recluse spiders (Araneae: Sicariidae): ''Loxosceles'' species are virtually restricted to their known distributions but public perception is that they exist throughout the United States
 | journal = [[Journal of Medical Entomology]]
 | volume = 42 | issue = 4 | pages = 512–521
 | doi = 10.1603/0022-2585(2005)042[0512:ASASBR]2.0.CO;2
 | pmid = 16119538 | s2cid = 22023570 | issn = 0022-2585
}}
</ref>
From this study, the most common spider submitted from California as a brown recluse was in the genus ''[[Titiotus]]'', whose bite is deemed harmless. A similar study documented that various arachnids were routinely misidentified by physicians, pest control operators, and other non-expert authorities, who told their patients or clients that the spider they had was a brown recluse when in fact it was not.<ref>
{{cite journal
 | last = Vetter | first = R.S.
 | year = 2009
 | title = Arachnids misidentified as brown recluse spiders by medical personnel and other authorities in North America
 | journal = Toxicon
 | volume = 54 | issue = 4| pages = 545–547
 | pmid = 19446575
 | doi = 10.1016/j.toxicon.2009.04.021
| bibcode = 2009Txcn...54..545V
 }}
</ref>
Despite the absence of brown recluses from the Western U.S., physicians in the region commonly diagnose "brown recluse bites", leading to the popular misconception that the spiders inhabit those areas.<ref>
{{cite journal
 | last1 = Vetter   | first1 = R.S.       | last2 = Cushing | first2 = P.E.
 | last3 = Crawford | first3 = R.L.       | last4 = Royce   | first4 = L.A.
 | year = 2003
 | title = Diagnoses of brown recluse spider bites (loxoscelism) greatly outnumber actual verifications of the spider's presence in four western American states
 | journal = Toxicon
 | volume = 42 | issue = 4 | pages = 413–418
 | pmid = 14505942
 | doi = 10.1016/S0041-0101(03)00173-9
}}
</ref>

Over the last century, spiders have occasionally been intercepted in locations where they have no known established populations; these spiders may be transported fairly easily, though the lack of ''established'' populations well outside the natural range also indicates that such movement has not led to the colonization of new areas, after decades of opportunities.<ref>
{{cite web
 |last=Edwards |first=G.B.
 |year=2018
 |title=brown recluse spider
 |department=Fact sheet
 |series=Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
 |website=entomology.ifas.ufl.edu
 |place=Gainesville, FL 
 |publisher=[[University of Florida]]
 |url=http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/spiders/brown_recluse_spider.htm
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite press release
 |last=Palmer |first=Diane
 |date=September 2007
 |title=Brown recluse spiders blamed for more wounds than they inflict, study suggests
 |publisher=[[Clemson University]]
 |series=Public service activities
 |url=http://www.clemson.edu/newsroom/articles/2007/september/brownreclusestudy.php5
 |url-status=dead  |access-date=12 September 2007
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090516233122/http://www.clemson.edu/newsroom/articles/2007/september/brownreclusestudy.php5
 |archive-date=16 May 2009
}}
</ref> Note that the occurrence of brown recluses in a single building (such as a warehouse) outside of the native range is not considered as successful colonization; such single-building populations can occur (e.g., in several such cases in Florida),<ref>
{{cite journal
 | last1 = Vetter | first1 = R.S.
 | last2 = Edwards | first2 = G.B.
 | last3 = James | first3 = L.F.
 | year = 2004
 | title = Reports of envenomation by brown recluse spiders (Araneae: Sicariidae) outnumber verifications of ''Loxosceles'' spiders in Florida
 | journal = [[Journal of Medical Entomology]]
 | volume = 41 | issue = 4| pages = 593–597
 | issn = 0022-2585 | pmid = 15311449
 | doi = 10.1603/0022-2585-41.4.593 | doi-access = free
}}
</ref>
but do not spread, and can be easily eradicated.<ref>
{{cite report
 |last=Edwards |first=G.B.
 |year=2001
 |title=The present status and a review of the brown recluse and related spiders, ''Loxosceles'' spp. (Araneae: Sicariidae), in Florida
 |series=Entomology Circular |volume=406
 |publisher=Division of Plant Industry, [[Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services]]
}}
</ref>
The spider has also received numerous sensationalized media reports of bites occurring where these spiders are absent (and no specimens were found), such as a 2014 report from Thailand, where a man was claimed to have died from a brown recluse bite.<ref>
{{cite news
 |first=Taweesak |last=Sukkasem
 |date=28 July 2014
 |title=1st Thai death from recluse spider
 |newspaper=[[Bangkok Post]]
 |place=Thailand
 |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/422905/1st-thai-death-from-recluse-spider
 |access-date=5 October 2024
}}
</ref>
Many misidentifications and erroneous geographic records stem from the similarity between ''L. reclusa'' and a related introduced species, the [[Mediterranean recluse spider|Mediterranean recluse]] (''Loxosceles rufescens''), which is found worldwide, including numerous sightings throughout the United States; the two species are superficially almost indistinguishable, and misidentifications are common, making it difficult to distinguish which reports of recluses refer to which species.<ref>
{{cite journal
 | last1 = Greene   | first1 = Albert     | last2 = Breisch | first2 = Nancy L.
 | last3 = Boardman | first3 = Thomas     | last4 = Pagac   | first4 = Benedict B.
 | last5 = Kunickis | first5 = Edward     | last6 = Howes   | first6 = Randall K.
 | last7 = Brown    | first7 = Paul V.
 | year = 2009
 | title = The Mediterranean recluse spider, ''Loxosceles rufescens'' {{small|(Dufour)}}: An abundant but cryptic inhabitant of deep infrastructure in the Washington, D.C. area (Arachnida: Araneae: Sicariidae)
 | journal = [[American Entomologist]]
 | volume = 55 | issue = 3 | pages = 158–169
 | doi = 10.1093/ae/55.3.158 | doi-access = free
}}
</ref>