My brother-in-law almost lost a finger from a Brown Recluse bite last year. He was digging through old clothes down in his basement. He didn't feel it immediately but it didn't take long to start rotting the finger away. A lot of pain and several surgeries later, his finger survived.
Ya know, that story about your Bro-in-law's finger almost rotting off after a bite kind of makes me appreciate the cooler climate of the north east here on Long Island that much more...Now please, no killer bee stories or I'm moving to northern Maine.
I got bit on the neck by one when I was in the military. It was not fun...