Southern house spiders are not known to have a dangerous bite. However, two bite cases reportedly caused the victims pain and swelling for a few days. The southern brown spider was previously listed in the genus Filistata , but is now listed in the genus Kukulcania . Description Kukulcania hibernalis is a species that exhibits a great degree of sexual dimorphism. Females are charcoal gray and 13-19 mm in length.
Females often have dusky patches on the carapace.
The abdomen is elongate-ovoid, and at times can be considerably distended, e.g., after feeding or if the female is gravid. Males also have a brown stripe from behind the eye prominence, which narrows quickly to include only the thoracic groove. The violin mark of the brown recluse is conspicuously wider and continues to the posterior edge of the carapace. Also, male K. hibernalis are generally larger than L. reclusa , have much longer legs and palpi, and have eight eyes grouped together on a raised prominence, rather than the six eyes in three pairs possessed by L. reclusa . Females and juveniles make specialized webs that are occasionally found under tree bark but are frequently seen on houses, barns, bridges, and other man-made structures.