Baby Brown Recluse

Baby brown recluse spiders are smaller and are a lighter tan, instead of the two-tone brown of mature adults. Brown recluse spiders are recognizable due to the dark violin shape on their head segment. However, baby brown recluse spiders do not have this mark, because it develops as the spider matures.

Most brown recluse spiders reproduce between May and July. A female only needs to mate once in order to reproduce for the rest of her life. Females lay their eggs in a silk egg sac. This sac can be deposited in a web, on plants, or carried by the mother. Sacs contain roughly 40 eggs, and a female can make more than 250 sacs in a lifetime. This means that a single brown recluse female can quickly populate a home. Brown recluse spiders are considered juvenile until a year after their birth.

During the first few weeks after birth, brown recluse babies stay close to their mother. The female adult feeds her offspring and guards them from predators. Once this period of weeks is over, the baby brown recluses tend to fan out in search of new hunting territory. Brown recluse spiders travel by “hitch-hiking” in linens, suitcases, and folded clothes.

Baby brown recluse spiders look very similar to several other species of tan spiders. The distinguishing factors of a baby brown recluse are that they have three sets of two eyes, and their legs are neither banded nor spiny.