AraneaeSicariidae – Sixeyed Sicariid Spiders

Apache Recluse

Loxosceles apachea

This record describes Loxosceles apachea (species). Recorded family: Sicariidae. Recorded order: Araneae.

Identification and Appearance

Apache Recluse - Loxosceles apachea
(c) Gordon C. Snelling, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Gordon C. Snelling

Loxosceles apachea, the Apache recluse, is a species of recluse spider in the family Sicariidae. It is found in the United States and Mexico.

Wikipedia reference for Loxosceles apachea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loxosceles apachea.

Classification

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Arachnida
Order
Araneae (Spiders)
Family
Sicariidae (Sixeyed Sicariid Spiders)
Genus
Loxosceles (Brown Spiders)

Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.

Habitat and Range

Geographic Range

Southern NM & AZ (see red)

Additional species information

Species notes from the sources

Etymology: Author of the name: Gertsch & Ennik. Year first published: 1983.

About Spiders: the wider group

Order-level background for Araneae, the group containing Loxosceles apachea. Species-specific details appear above.

Group overview

As of 2023, 51,673 spider species in 136 families have been recorded, though an estimated 150,000 species exist. Spiders rank 7th in total species diversity among all organism orders. Only 0.5% of spider species pose any risk to human health.

Ecological role of the group

Spider venom contains complex peptides with diverse pharmacological activities, making them valuable for drug development research. Spiders produce up to 7 types of silk from specialized glands. Spider silk genes have been inserted into mammals and plants for biotech applications.

Economic and practical significance of the group

The global spider community kills an estimated 400-800 million tons of prey annually (2017 study). Spiders provide billions of dollars in natural pest control for agriculture. Spider silk is 5× stronger than steel of the same diameter, driving a biomaterials research industry.

Recorded sources for this group: World Spider Catalog, PNAS, Nature, ScienceDirect. Imported estimates may describe particular regions or reporting periods.

Explore Araneae families and species →

Photos of Apache Recluse (9)

Apache Recluse - photo 1
(c) Gordon C. Snelling, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Gordon C. Snelling | (c) James W. Beck, all rights reserved, uploaded by James W. Beck | (c) Kari McWest, all rights reserved, uploaded by Kari McWest | (c) Braden Wojahn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Braden Wojahn | (c) jeremy03, all rights reserved, uploaded by jeremy03 | (c) cepolanco, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) | (c) Ad Konings, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ad Konings | (c) Andrew Meeds, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Andrew Meeds | Contributed by Lynette Elliott; Additional contributions by Jeff Hollenbeck , cheins
Apache Recluse - photo 2
(c) Gordon C. Snelling, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Gordon C. Snelling | (c) James W. Beck, all rights reserved, uploaded by James W. Beck | (c) Kari McWest, all rights reserved, uploaded by Kari McWest | (c) Braden Wojahn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Braden Wojahn | (c) jeremy03, all rights reserved, uploaded by jeremy03 | (c) cepolanco, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) | (c) Ad Konings, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ad Konings | (c) Andrew Meeds, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Andrew Meeds | Contributed by Lynette Elliott; Additional contributions by Jeff Hollenbeck , cheins
Apache Recluse - photo 3
(c) Gordon C. Snelling, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Gordon C. Snelling | (c) James W. Beck, all rights reserved, uploaded by James W. Beck | (c) Kari McWest, all rights reserved, uploaded by Kari McWest | (c) Braden Wojahn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Braden Wojahn | (c) jeremy03, all rights reserved, uploaded by jeremy03 | (c) cepolanco, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) | (c) Ad Konings, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ad Konings | (c) Andrew Meeds, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Andrew Meeds | Contributed by Lynette Elliott; Additional contributions by Jeff Hollenbeck , cheins
Apache Recluse - photo 4
(c) Gordon C. Snelling, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Gordon C. Snelling | (c) James W. Beck, all rights reserved, uploaded by James W. Beck | (c) Kari McWest, all rights reserved, uploaded by Kari McWest | (c) Braden Wojahn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Braden Wojahn | (c) jeremy03, all rights reserved, uploaded by jeremy03 | (c) cepolanco, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) | (c) Ad Konings, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ad Konings | (c) Andrew Meeds, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Andrew Meeds | Contributed by Lynette Elliott; Additional contributions by Jeff Hollenbeck , cheins
Apache Recluse - photo 5
(c) Gordon C. Snelling, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Gordon C. Snelling | (c) James W. Beck, all rights reserved, uploaded by James W. Beck | (c) Kari McWest, all rights reserved, uploaded by Kari McWest | (c) Braden Wojahn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Braden Wojahn | (c) jeremy03, all rights reserved, uploaded by jeremy03 | (c) cepolanco, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) | (c) Ad Konings, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ad Konings | (c) Andrew Meeds, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Andrew Meeds | Contributed by Lynette Elliott; Additional contributions by Jeff Hollenbeck , cheins
Apache Recluse - photo 6
(c) Gordon C. Snelling, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Gordon C. Snelling | (c) James W. Beck, all rights reserved, uploaded by James W. Beck | (c) Kari McWest, all rights reserved, uploaded by Kari McWest | (c) Braden Wojahn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Braden Wojahn | (c) jeremy03, all rights reserved, uploaded by jeremy03 | (c) cepolanco, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) | (c) Ad Konings, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ad Konings | (c) Andrew Meeds, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Andrew Meeds | Contributed by Lynette Elliott; Additional contributions by Jeff Hollenbeck , cheins
Apache Recluse - photo 7
(c) Gordon C. Snelling, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Gordon C. Snelling | (c) James W. Beck, all rights reserved, uploaded by James W. Beck | (c) Kari McWest, all rights reserved, uploaded by Kari McWest | (c) Braden Wojahn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Braden Wojahn | (c) jeremy03, all rights reserved, uploaded by jeremy03 | (c) cepolanco, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) | (c) Ad Konings, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ad Konings | (c) Andrew Meeds, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Andrew Meeds | Contributed by Lynette Elliott; Additional contributions by Jeff Hollenbeck , cheins
Apache Recluse - photo 8
(c) Gordon C. Snelling, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Gordon C. Snelling | (c) James W. Beck, all rights reserved, uploaded by James W. Beck | (c) Kari McWest, all rights reserved, uploaded by Kari McWest | (c) Braden Wojahn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Braden Wojahn | (c) jeremy03, all rights reserved, uploaded by jeremy03 | (c) cepolanco, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) | (c) Ad Konings, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ad Konings | (c) Andrew Meeds, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Andrew Meeds | Contributed by Lynette Elliott; Additional contributions by Jeff Hollenbeck , cheins

Photo credits: (c) Gordon C. Snelling, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Gordon C. Snelling | (c) James W. Beck, all rights reserved, uploaded by James W. Beck | (c) Kari McWest, all rights reserved, uploaded by Kari McWest | (c) Braden Wojahn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Braden Wojahn | (c) jeremy03, all rights reserved, uploaded by jeremy03 | (c) cepolanco, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) | (c) Ad Konings, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ad Konings | (c) Andrew Meeds, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Andrew Meeds | Contributed by Lynette Elliott; Additional contributions by Jeff Hollenbeck , cheins

How we use and review source data. Source count does not imply independent verification.

Photo credits: (c) Gordon C. Snelling, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Gordon C. Snelling | (c) James W. Beck, all rights reserved, uploaded by James W. Beck | (c) Kari McWest, all rights reserved, uploaded by Kari McWest | (c) Braden Wojahn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Braden Wojahn | (c) jeremy03, all rights reserved, uploaded by jeremy03 | (c) cepolanco, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) | (c) Ad Konings, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ad Konings | (c) Andrew Meeds, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Andrew Meeds | Contributed by Lynette Elliott; Additional contributions by Jeff Hollenbeck , cheins. Contributors retain copyright over their individual contributions.