Influence of Environmental Factors on Longevity of the Brown Recluse Spider1

Persistence and survival of the spider Nephila plumipes in cities: do increased prey resources drive the success of an urban exploiter?

“…Little is known about the effect of temperature on the mortality of orb weaving spiders in the field. Colder conditions actually increase persistence of spiders in the laboratory (Eskafi et al 1977;Li and Jackson 1996), but warmer conditions could present a fitness benefit in the field by extending the length of the orb weaver season. The warmer winters may mean females can produce eggs at a faster rate, and could allow egg sacs that were laid early in the season to hatch within the same season, rather than remaining dormant over winter.…”

“…Spiders from many different families can become urban exploiters Kralj-Fišer and Schneider 2012;Lowe et al 2014;Trubl et al 2012;Voss et al 2007), but the environmental factors driving these increases in abundance are not well-understood. Factors known to affect the survival of spiders include: temperature (Li 2002), prey abundance (Eskafi et al 1977;Wise 1995), habitat complexity (McNett andRypstra 2000;Riechert 2000) and predation (Gunnarsson and Wiklander 2015;Wise and Chen 1999). As many of these factors are changed in cities, there is the potential for the life history of orb-weaving spiders to be altered in urban systems.…”

Are brown recluse spiders, Loxosceles reclusa (Araneae, Sicariidae) scavengers? The influence of predator satiation, prey size, and prey quality

“…Because brown recluse spiders are a relatively long-lived species (Hite et al 1966;Eskafi et al 1977), I was able to use spiders in multiple trials (n 5 number of trials). To control for possible effects of repeated testing, I randomly assigned spiders to a treatment order to avoid biasing spider choice based on prior experience in another testing situation.…”

Chemical Control of Spiders and Scorpions in Urban Areas

“…The venom of this species is potentially able to cause envenomation with the same gravity of those produced by synanthropic species [74], but no bite was reported. The Loxosceles spiders are among the most enduring of the suborder Araneomorphae [75] and also have the lowest rate of water loss recorded on spiders [75]. One feature that facilitates the identification of spiders involved in possible loxoscelic accidents is that all Loxosceles species have six eyes, arranged in three dyads forming a curved line (Figure 1) [71].…”

“…We were able to keep females of these species for one year in plastic containers, without food and water, and these spiders after fed with insects, lived up to two more years (unpublished data). Eskafi et al [75] purposely starved field-collected L. reclusa at different temperatures and relative humidities. Spiders at 5ºC survived 4 to 7 months whereas this dropped to 1 to 2 months at 30°C and less than 2 weeks at 40°C.…”