ABSTRACT
The brown recluse spider is the most important of the violin spiders in the United States; however, several other species occur in the southwestern United States and the northeastern United States that can produce necrotic lesions. L. laeta is a notorious violin spider in South America. There are more than 30 species of widow spiders occurring worldwide, but Latrodectus mactans is the one most generally associated with the name black widow spider. There are almost 40,000 named species of spiders ranging in size from a few millimeters to more than 17 cm. Even some spiders that are not tarantulas are very large. All spiders, with the exception of the family Uloboridae, are venomous and use their venom to immobilize or kill prey; however, the chelicerae of many species are too short to penetrate human skin. Violin spiders have venom that produces cutaneous lesions.
