A brown recluse spider:
(1) is usually identified within its geographic range
(2) measures up to 3/8th of an inch in length (about 1 cm)
(3) has 3 pairs of eyes (total 6 eyes) with one pair in front and one pair on each side of its cephalothorax
(4) has legs that are uniformly colored, without bands and/or stripes
(5) has legs that are covered with a fine hairs, without spines
(6) has a uniformly colored abdomen ranging from cream to light brown, without 2 or more colors
(7) has a dark violin shape on the cephalothorax ("fiddleback"), with the body towards the eyes and the fingerboard pointing towards the abdomen
The web of a brown recluse spider is placed in the dark behind objects, never in the open.
The appearance of a brown recluse spider may vary with age, gender and feeding status.
