I live in Massachusetts, in 15 years I have found three brown recluse spiders .?

Question

BUT when I look on line they are not suppose to live in Massachusetts. Shiny, brown, size of a quarter or less cobweb.
I am not stupid, and in a neighboring town several were found in an old cript that was being excivated. I also had a neighbor bit years ago, she lived the Drs said because she was almost 450 lbs. So why don't they show them in Massachusetts?

Answer 1

Well my sister was once bitten by a brown recluse it apparently came home with some camping equipment from another state. It is possible that they're there now and living abundantly and could have been introduced by mechanical means(hitched a ride in something)

All sorts of nature seems to be turning up these days in areas where it is not indigenous to the area.

Answer 2

Although anything is possible, I would say that what you've found aren't recluses. There are several kinds of large-ish smooth brownish spiders, and it's a normal reaction to identify things as the most dangerous thing we know of. You mention cobweb, but it's not clear in what context. Recluses do not make cobwebs; they're slow-moving, wandering hunters. As to the bite you refer to, it's very common for skin lesions to be mis-identified as spider bites, and other things besides recluses can produce a necrotic wound. The best thing you can do is catch some of the spiders the next time you find any, stick them in a jar with some rubbing Ethyl alcohol to keep them preserved, and take them down to your local Mass. Audubon place to see if anyone there knows spiders. If you have a university nearby that has a good entomology or invertebrate zoology department then they might have a spider person on staff as well

Answer 3

Well the list of bugs in ur area isnt exactly precise the list is a list of common insects not every insect that has been seen in ur area.