The natural habitat of the brown recluse spider is outdoors in undisturbed areas, such as under rocks or inside hollow trees. As the name of the spider suggests, it sometimes hides away in homes in search of insects to feed upon. Because the spiders are nocturnal, they are attracted to lights in homes that also attract their food source. Once inside a home, the brown recluse has little interest in humans and will only bite if it is threatened.
Many believe that the black markings on the spider resemble a violin, which is the cause of its nickname. These markings should not be used to identify the spider because many other species have similar markings. The major identification method is an examination of the eyes of the brown recluse: the species only have six eyes while most spiders have eight eyes.