Black Widows & Brown Recluses

Black widows are around 1½ inches in length, and are shiny black in color with an orange or red hourglass marking on the underside of the abdomen. They can live in cluttered, undisturbed locations. Outdoors, they prefer woodpiles, rubble, stone piles, sheds, and similar locations. They will spin cobweb-style webs (no real pattern like some spiders).

Brown recluses like to build small "retreat" webs for protection behind objects available for any length of time. They are between ¼ to ¾ inches in length and are golden brown in color; they have a dark violin or fiddle shape where their legs attach to the body.

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