Wolf Spider vs Brown Recluse
Hogna carolinensis vs Loxosceles reclusa
If it is big, hairy and fast, it is a wolf spider, and it is harmless. Recluses are smaller, smooth-legged and retiring. This is one of the few recluse comparisons a decent photograph can usually settle outright.
The one thing that settles it
Two large forward-facing eyes. A wolf spider has a pair of very large eyes facing straight forward, which reflect torchlight back at you as bright green points. A recluse has six small eyes in three spread pairs and no eyeshine at all. Shine a torch at it from your own eye level in the dark and the answer is immediate.
Side by side
| Character | Carolina Wolf Spider | Brown Recluse |
|---|---|---|
| Danger | Harmless | Dangerous |
| Eyes | Eight, including two very large forward-facing ones that shine in torchlight | Six, small, in three widely spaced pairs. No eyeshine |
| Size | Large and robust — up to 35 mm body on the biggest species | 6–12 mm body, roughly the size of a small coin |
| Legs | Thick and visibly hairy | Slender, smooth, uniformly tan — no bands or spines |
| Body pattern | Grey-brown mottled camouflage | Plain, with a dark violin shape on the head-plate |
| Web | None. It hunts on the ground and lives in a burrow | Flat, irregular sheet web in an undisturbed corner |
| Carrying young | Females carry an egg sac on the spinnerets, then carry the spiderlings on the abdomen | Egg sacs are left in the retreat, never carried |
Why they get confused
Both are brown, both are found on the floor, and both turn up indoors without a web to explain them. Beyond that they have very little in common, and the confusion is mostly a matter of a frightened glance at a brown spider moving fast. Speed and size actively argue against a recluse: a large, quick, obviously hairy spider that runs across open floor is behaving like a hunter, which is what a wolf spider is.
If you still can’t tell
Look at the abdomen for spiderlings. A wolf spider carrying young is unmistakable and no recluse ever does it. Failing that, the torch test settles it in seconds — wolf spider eyes throw back a bright green shine and recluse eyes do not. If neither is available, size alone is a strong signal: a spider noticeably bigger than a coin is not a brown recluse.
Common questions
Are wolf spiders dangerous?
Not medically significant. A bite from a large one hurts about like a wasp sting and does no lasting damage. They are frightening to meet because they are big and fast, not because they are harmful.
It ran at me. Does that mean it is aggressive?
No. Wolf spiders are hunters and they move fast in whatever direction they were already heading, which sometimes happens to be towards you. A brown recluse would run away and hide.
Do wolf spiders build webs?
No. They hunt on the ground and shelter in burrows or under cover. If there is a web, you are looking at something else.
Full records
- Carolina Wolf Spider Harmless
- Brown Recluse Dangerous
Where this was checked
- iNaturalist — Hogna carolinensis checked 2026-07-30
- iNaturalist — Loxosceles reclusa checked 2026-07-30
- University of California IPM — Recluse Spiders checked 2026-07-30
Last reviewed 2026-07-30. We identify, we don’t diagnose — what we can and can’t tell you.