Daddy Long Legs, also known as Harvestmen or Cellar Spiders, are arachnids that closely resemble spiders but are more closely related to scorpions. They are ground-dwelling outdoor creatures often mistaken for spiders due to their pebble-sized bodies and disproportionately long legs. Harvestmen, also known as daddy longlegs, play a vital role in controlling pests by feeding on other insects, including harmful spiders.
Daddy longlegs belong to a separate order of arachnids called Opiliones, which can be easily distinguished by their long, thin legs and delicate appearance. They belong to the family Tetragnathidae and are part of the Tetragnathidae family. The Opiliones order contains over 1, 800 individual species, including those commonly known as cellar spider, daddy long-legs spider, carpenter spider, and more.
Another creature often called “Daddy Long Legs” is actually a spider, a large type of cranefly with 94 species in the UK. These insects, not arachnids, have long bodies and wings that make them look like oversize mosquitoes. However, unlike mosquitoes, they cannot fly.
The Opiliones (formerly Phalangida) are an order of arachnids, colloquially known as harvestmen, harvesters, harvest spiders, or daddy longlegs. They have eight legs and tend to skitter about the way spiders do, making them more like scorpions than spiders.
| Article | Description | Site |
|---|---|---|
| Pholcidae | The family contains more than 1,800 individual species of pholcids, including those commonly known as cellar spider, daddy long-legs spider, carpenter spider, … | en.wikipedia.org |
| YSK that daddy long legs, also known as harvestmen are … | “Another creature often called daddy- longlegs is actually a spider. These long-legged spiders are in the family Pholcidae. Previously the … | reddit.com |
| Are daddy long legs actually spiders? | Yes, daddy long legs are spiders. They are also known as cellar spiders, carpenter spiders, or vibrating spider and skull spiders. | quora.com |
📹 Are Daddy Longlegs Spiders? (Re: 8 Animal Misconceptions Rundown)
Image links http://www.flickr.com/photos/aunto/4424275405/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxypar4/2124673642/ …
What Attracts Daddy Long Legs In The House?
Daddy long legs, also known as harvestmen, may invade homes, especially after wet or warm weather. Their attraction to residential spaces stems from a need for moisture and food. With an increase in the local insect population, these arachnids are drawn to areas with abundant small insect prey. They prefer damp, dark environments—making basements, crawl spaces, and garages ideal spots for them to thrive.
These long-legged creatures, a type of crane fly, are notable for not spinning webs; instead, they seek cluttered corners for shelter. Additionally, they can be lured indoors by light sources at night. Pest control expert Jordan Foster notes that turning off outdoor lights and keeping windows closed can help minimize their presence.
Moisture is a key factor in their attraction; homes with high humidity or water damage are more susceptible to infestations. Furthermore, the availability of food—such as flies and ants—also plays a significant role in drawing daddy long legs inside.
To reduce their presence, it's vital to address any moisture problems, fix leaks, and ensure good ventilation in areas like basements. Eliminating clutter near light sources and keeping outdoor illumination minimal can also discourage these arachnids from entering your home. By understanding their habits and preferences, homeowners can effectively manage and repel daddy long legs.
What Smell Do Daddy Long Legs Hate?
To keep Daddy long legs at bay, seal potential entry points around windows, doors, and other areas to prevent their entry. Utilize essential oils such as peppermint, eucalyptus, and tea tree oil, as these arachnids are averse to strong scents. Peppermint spray is particularly effective; while it doesn't kill them, it serves as an excellent repellent to keep corners of your home clear. Despite myths claiming Daddy long legs possess highly toxic venom, they are harmless; their fangs are too small to bite, and they lack venom glands.
They are often confused with spiders but are actually a type of cranefly. Known for their defensive stink glands, they emit an odor disliked by predators, and they can camouflage well within their surroundings, hiding during the daytime in cracks and crevices.
A combination of scents can deter Daddy long legs—peppermint, lavender, citrus oils (orange, lemon, lime), tea tree, and even cinnamon and rose. A practical tip is to soak cotton balls in peppermint oil and place them around the house, particularly near windows and doors, as spiders dislike this smell. Ensure good ventilation in damp areas like bathrooms and basements, and address any leaks to create an unconducive environment for these insects. Despite the presence of a large population, it’s essential to remember that Daddy long legs are simply a harmless annoyance and do not bite or spread disease.
Should I Let Daddy Long Legs Live In My House?
Daddy longlegs, often feared due to myths about their supposed poison, are actually harmless and cause no damage to either structures or inhabitants. Although they can be seen as creepy, especially when found in homes, they are beneficial to the garden by preying on other pests. To prevent watermelon (harvestmen) from entering your home, it's advisable to trim plants near your house, declutter, and maintain cleanliness around the exterior. Repairing any cracks in windows, doors, and pipes can also deter them from gaining entry.
While some people mistakenly confuse daddy longlegs with spiders, they are distinct in their anatomy, featuring an oval-shaped body as opposed to the two-part body of cellar spiders. Although daddy longlegs prefer damp environments for laying eggs, they have a short lifespan of five to fifteen days, so their presence is often temporary. Moreover, having a few in your home can reduce the presence of flies and mosquitoes.
Experts recommend leaving daddy longlegs alone, as they are beneficial creatures that contribute positively to the environment. Additionally, using weather strips can further minimize their access to living spaces. In conclusion, rather than being killed when spotted, daddy longlegs should be embraced for their role in pest control, and preventative measures can help manage their presence indoors.
Should I Get Rid Of Daddy Long Leg Spiders?
When dealing with daddy long legs and cellar spiders, the best approach is to leave them alone as they are harmless to both humans and pets. These spiders, which include those with spindly legs, play a beneficial role by controlling pest problems, particularly ants. To manage their presence, maintaining a clean environment is crucial. Tidying up can significantly reduce clutter where these spiders like to hide. If necessary, you can use exterior insecticide sprays or employ a broom or vacuum to remove them.
Despite their menacing appearance, daddy long legs (order Opiliones) are not true spiders and do not produce silk or webs. They primarily inhabit dark, warm, and humid areas, making them challenging to eradicate. Interestingly, they consume spiders, earthworms, and various insects, aiding in pest control. Instead of exterminating them using toxic sprays, which is often an unnecessary expense, consider utilizing a shop-vac and residential insecticide sprays for prevention.
Overall, while many might dislike these arachnids, they contribute positively to the ecosystem by preying on other pests. It is recommended to tolerate their presence in your home due to their beneficial nature rather than attempting to eliminate them. Understanding and respecting these creatures can enhance your home environment and maintain a natural balance.
What Does It Mean If You Have Daddy Long Legs In Your House?
The presence of daddy-long-legs in your home might indicate a larger pest issue, as these creatures prey on other pests. While they are generally harmless and often associated with good fortune, many people prefer not to coexist with large numbers of them in Beaumont homes. Seeing a daddy-long-leg is often thought to bring luck, prosperity, and happiness. Their slow, deliberate movement embodies patience and perseverance, suggesting that one should appreciate life's delicate balance and marvel at nature's intricacies.
In spiritual contexts, spotting a daddy-long-leg can symbolize protective energies, indicating that guardian angels or spirits may be watching over your household. Conversely, witnessing one consuming its prey may signify safety from negative energies or spiritual attacks. These creatures, also called Harvestmen, possess delicate long legs and often inhabit dark, damp places, such as basements, garages, or crawl spaces, particularly during extreme weather conditions.
While daddy-long-legs are often mistaken for spiders, they are not dangerous; they cannot bite or sting, making them non-threatening to humans and pets. Their presence can serve as a natural form of pest control, feeding on other undesirable insects in your home. However, if their numbers increase, it’s usually a sign that they are attracted to a food source—specifically, more unwanted pests.
In summary, while having a few daddy-long-legs in your home may not be a cause for concern and can even be interpreted positively, an abundance of them may warn of underlying pest issues. Thus, maintaining a clean and well-guarded home environment is key to managing their presence successfully.
What Family Are Daddy Long Legs In?
The Pholcidae family consists of over 1, 800 species of araneomorph spiders, commonly referred to as cellar spiders, daddy long-legs, and vibrating spiders, among others. Long-legged species, particularly those known as daddy long-legs, employ two mechanisms to evade predators. It is crucial to distinguish these spiders, belonging to the Pholcidae family, from harvestmen, which are part of the Opiliones order and encompass over 6, 000 arachnid species with notably long, thin legs and compact bodies.
One example is Pholcus phalangioides, the cosmopolitan cellar spider, often mistaken for various types of daddy long-legs. In addition to resembling daddy long-legs, these spiders exhibit unique attributes and behaviors, like playing dead or shedding limbs as a survival tactic through autotomy. This ability helps them escape threats. Daddy long-legs spiders, characterized by their long, thin legs, possess diagonally positioned fangs that cross when preying.
Various Pholcidae species can be found globally, with many being common household residents in places like the UK and North America. While some people refer to crane flies as daddy long-legs, these are not related to spiders. Instead, the true daddy long-legs of the Pholcidae family weave webs and are known for their delicate appearance.
Why Is Daddy Long Legs Not A Spider?
Daddy longlegs, commonly referred to as harvestmen, are a well-known presence in Missouri. They are not actually spiders but belong to the order Opiliones, making them arachnids more closely related to scorpions. Unlike spiders, daddy longlegs have a fused body structure, lacking silk and venom glands, which renders them harmless. Their body appears as an oval shape, creating a challenge in distinguishing where the "head" ends and the "abdomen" begins.
Their notably long, spindly legs contribute to a less creepy-crawly perception compared to typical spiders. In fact, the term "daddy longlegs" can refer to different creatures including crane flies and certain spiders from the family Tetragnathidae, further complicating its meaning.
Harvestmen, identifiable by their small bodies and elongated legs, are abundant with scientists estimating over 10, 000 species. The unique design of their long legs allows them to minimize contact with their surroundings, reducing the chance of getting caught in silk, which they cannot produce. Importantly, although often mistaken for spiders, daddy longlegs possess distinct characteristics that separate them from true spiders, with no segmented bodies or compound eyes. Thus, while they share some superficial similarities with spiders, they are indeed a separate group entirely, deserving recognition as an intriguing part of the arachnid family.
What Is A Granddaddy Long Legs Classified As?
Daddy longlegs, also known as harvestmen, belong to the taxonomic class Arachnida and are distinct from true spiders, despite some similarities in appearance and behavior. Harvestmen comprise over 6, 500 species classified in the order Opiliones, making them more closely related to scorpions than to spiders. Although they exhibit spider-like characteristics, including eight legs and similar movements, daddy longlegs are not classified as spiders. True spiders belong to the order Araneae, while daddy longlegs, or harvestmen, fall under the order Opiliones, with cellar spiders classified under Pholcidae.
Harvestmen are recognized for their elongated legs and compact bodies. Typically, they are easily identified by their characteristic pebble-sized bodies and disproportionately long legs. Common names for this group include daddy longlegs, harvestmen, and opilionids, highlighting their distinction from spiders. While they share some features with spiders, such as being arachnids, harvestmen possess a fused body structure and lack the ability to produce silk, differentiating them further from true spiders.
It's important not to confuse harvestmen with cellar spiders, which are often referred to as daddy longlegs in common vernacular. Overall, while widely misunderstood, daddy longlegs or harvestmen are a unique group of arachnids, playing their own ecological roles distinct from their spider relatives.
Will Daddy Long Legs Come Near You?
Daddy longlegs, often found under logs and in hidden corners, are frequently misunderstood due to urban myths claiming they are venomous. In reality, they cannot bite, and the confusion likely arises from their resemblance to certain spider species. As spider season returns, many people will encounter these clumsy insects in their homes. Wildlife experts recommend releasing them instead of killing them, as they pose no threat.
Adult daddy longlegs are brown with long, spindly legs and translucent wings, typically measuring 3-7mm in length. Although they can be alarming to some, especially as they flutter around before bedtime, there is no cause for concern.
These insects, also known as crane flies, emerge in September looking for mates after spending much of their lives underground as larvae. Their presence can spike during this time, causing unease, but they neither bite nor cause property damage. If you find one in your home, the best approach is to let it be or gently release it outside. Contrary to popular belief, they are not spiders; some species known as cellar spiders can bite but have very mild venom. Myths suggest that daddy longlegs have the strongest venom, but they can't bite humans due to short fangs.
In cases of overpopulation in your home, sticky traps can be used near light sources or cramped areas. Overall, daddy longlegs are harmless, and their presence shouldn't incite fear.
What Does A Daddy Longleg Spider Look Like?
Daddy longlegs, often mistaken for spiders, belong to a different group known as harvestmen. They typically range in color from cream to brown or gray, sometimes displaying brown stripes on their undersides. Characteristically, they possess long, slender legs that can be several times longer than their small, oval bodies. Unlike true spiders, daddy longlegs have only two eyes, while spiders usually have six to eight.
Commonly referred to as cellar spiders, the family Pholcidae includes over 1, 800 species, defined by their small, bulbous bodies and long, delicate legs. Although they resemble spiders, their body structure is simpler, with one main body segment showing some segmentation at the back. In addition to their similarity in appearance, other arachnids like yellow sac spiders and false black widow spiders can also be confused for daddy longlegs.
The particular species Pholcus phalangioides is often noted for its brown patch on a pale carapace. Daddy longlegs tend to thrive in warm, indoor environments—such as homes and garages—since they cannot survive cold outdoor temperatures in winter. Their webs are an untidy tangle of non-sticky silk, where these spiders can often be seen hanging upside down.
The term "daddy longlegs" may refer to different creatures depending on the context, including harvestmen, crane flies (which are insects), or pholcid spiders. This overlap in terminology can lead to some confusion. However, their most distinguishing feature remains their extremely long legs coupled with a small body. Overall, daddy longlegs are fascinating arachnids that differ significantly from true spiders.
📹 Are Daddy Long Legs Really the Most Venomous Spiders In the World?
For the science geek in everyone, LiveScience.com breaks down the stories behind the most interesting news and photos on the …
So, i grew up calling another “spider” a “Daddy Long Legs” and it looks like none of those, it actually looks most like the cellar spider but they are all black/dark grey, and now i’m confused. I don’t know why i felt the need to mention this as i’m too lazy to give any more information that may help lead to this spiders identification. Good day to you all, and have a pleasant week.
This was the only good article I could find on YouTube that had all the information I was looking for, after a while of manually looking all this up on google, I found this article. Which clarified that cellar spiders aren’t directly related to harvestmen. Which was my question after seeing a harvestmen for the first time.
I’ve always called the harvestmen daddy longlegs. They are also one of only two arthropods I know I have a strong irrational fear of. I absolutely love all arthropods most of the time except for these, which I love too as long as I don’t think about them too much let alone see one. I really hate the way they look with their long, almost invisible legs that stand in a particular way to make it look like their tiny grey ball body (the harvestmen where I live are grey or brown and have small, round bodies) (I fooled myself into trying to remember whether they are grey or brown and google imaged them and now I am really freaked and keep thinking i feel them under my desk curse you) look like it is floating, and this dislike is multiplied a hundred times when I see one moving, because they bounce quickly in place and run while bouncing and look like tiny gyrating aliens flying along or something ugh. The maximum amount of terror is reached when there are hundreds of them all crammed together in some small dark cold space on the goddamn ceiling and when you walk in they all start bouncing and running around and falling on you and when they run on your legs it feels like the most horrible nightmare you’ve ever had AND THEY ALWAYS DO THIS EXACTLY THIS IS LIKE THEIR FAVORITE THING TO DO EVER its like they are conspiring to make me shit myself. Whenever I’m in a cave, a building with a large opening to the outside that’s cool inside like a cave or a thick forest with similar features, or this sort of terrain around large boulders, I know there’s at least one somewhere and just look at as little as possible until I can gtfo.
I loved the photo of Julia Gillard when you said “it also produces venom, but so does everything in that bloody country”, beautiful touch mate. Funny thing is the Daddy Long-legs in Australia or the cellar spider, produces a lethal venom when it bites but its fangs are so minute the venom doesn’t penetrate human skin so basically he kills other spiders especially the red-back, so Aussie daddy long-legs is a champ.
Thanks for clearing that up because I was sure that daddy longlegs where spiders of the venomous kind, because I’ve had several on me trying and failing to bite me. And by the way they are also completely awesome because they kill the actual dangerous spiders in your house, like for instance that deadly redback on my collar when I was 2 (true story ’cause this is Australia).
I first met a Daddy Longlegs in Texas, which appear to be a species of Cellar Spider. Cellar spiders are not exclusive to Australia, but can be found in most places. The Pholcidae family contains about a thousand species. (I tried to put a wikipedia link here, but YouTube forbids such helpful information.) I’m surprised to hear that the crazy “venomous but their mouth is too small” legend is true!
I from the U.S. and I always called cellar spiders daddy long legs. Also most people haven’t even seen a harvestman unless they trek out into the woods a lot and many members are actually endangered. While cellar spiders are quite common and live in peoples homes. I think in this modern anthropocene age it is actually more common to give cellar spiders the moniker daddy long legs.
when i was younger we called cellar spiders daddy longlegs, and the other ones harvestmen in California, always had them in and around the house (note, only one member of the family had ever been to Australia, and I didn’t learn the moniker from him.) Of course, this isn’t saying much considering I know people all over the states that will call any buzzing, flying insect that looks yellowish a bee, whether that’s a wasp, honeybee, or a misidentified junebug.
Everyone is terrified of spiders. Why?! They’re so cute and nice! I don’t even put them outside. I let them be. I’d rather have timid arachnids that stay out of my way than those stupid dirty flies who zip into the house when you open the door. More spiders means less flies which is better. And you don’t eat 400 every night. They won’t walk down your throat while you sleep. And they may not bite you, even if you pick them up. Just. Let. Them. Be. Is your phobia worth their life?
Aaaand there is some “I don’t know how to call it antymore” thing in Spain wich’s name “araña patilarga” is our equivalent to “daddy long legs” but I don’t remember it looking like any of the two you talked about. Also, as far as I know, is unharmfull to humans and makes a great job taking care of mosquitoes
There’s Also a Species of harvestman that live in the US that get called daddy long legs, they’re a bit different in that they often nest in colony balls, collecting under roof edges in shady parts of your house in the summer, Odd little creatures, I used to play with them all the time, picking up their colony to watch them scatter about every which way.
I thought the myth we because of the ones in Australia because they hunt and kill Redbacks which are very dangerous to humans. But they just chill and never bite so I always thought that myth was because they had to fangs to small to bite you. Anyway correct me if I am wrong about where the myth comes from but I think in the Aus case it is slightly true.
0:57 venom, grey, venom. If you had said toxin that would’ve been better than poison. Also the cellar spider that people call daddy long legs exists over pretty much the entirety of the world. It’s range excludes Siberia, Iceland and Greenland as well as northern Canada and Alaska. From where I’m from (west coast us) cellar spiders are common and called daddy long legs.
Don’t know the actual name, but in California there are things we call daddy longlegs that have 8 legs, not sure about eyes, can’t spin webs (I think) and can definitely bite you. No or very weak venom though. They are almost transparent, and have legs 1-2 inches long, with tiny bodies. You find them lurking in corners during winter.
I never knew what to call the cellar spider (the only actual spider on this list) but my cellar was filled with these things… There were 2 in 1 web that covered my hot water tank & I thought I’d leave them alone because most web spiders don’t move if their web feeds them. Big mistake with these type, they reproduce in huge numbers & eventually you’ll see them all over the house making huge webs overnight
My Daddy Longlegs or what I suggest we just rename to Papa Lengthy Limb are the Harvestmen, but I would like to point out that they are not 8 legged like your check off list implies, they have 6 legs and out of those six they can detach multiple and still retain full mobility, the two longest pair that point forward are not true legs but are breathing tubes that function as legs but more so helping with balance and stability. If those breathing tubes are lost sadly the Papa Lengthy Limb will die, unlike what happens if they lose up to three of their real legs barely slowing them down. They have four modes of movement they can use to aid in keeping pace two used only when they have limb loss. A none damaged Papa Lengthy Limb will Walk or Run, where as they lose more and more limbs they adapt to using Stotting and Bobbing to maximize their movement speed and performance. Sorry if my translations are a bit off or confusing I just really like these little guys and find them fascinating. . . Papa Lengthy Limbs that is (The harvestmen) not the gross cellar spider, crane fly, or weird looking plant.
Im british and agree its common to call a crane fly a daddy long leg, more common than crane fly but in the last few years we have had a bunch of as you say Australian “cellar spiders” which we also call daddy longlegs probable because of Australians. To which i would suggest the “cellar spidars to be the (most common) daddy long leg. Great article.
but they do have fangs….i was playing with one when i was little (cuz i was an idiot back then) and it bit me leaving me in relatively sharp pain for about the next 5 minutes. it had two mouth pieces, about 1/2 as long as the head, and it sunk both of them into me. all of them iv ever seen (im in the east cost of USA) have these mouth pieces. are they not fangs?
I live in the west US and get these types of thing in my front and back yard that i grew up being told were Daddy Long Legs and it wasn’t any of those. 8 Long legs but beyond that I dont know anything else. They have incredibly small bodies that I never saw what they actually looked like beyond 8 giganto legs
The ones I saw at my cousin’s house in Alabama had button sized light brown bodies held in the middle of eight legs and I think it had two or three eyes, but probably two. And by button sized I mean about as big as from the tip of my finger to the knuckle closest to the tip. Is that a daddy long leg of sorts?
We also have them in the Midwest of the US and they have 8 legs a capability to bite with venom (though it’s not very effective and can bite humans for some reason never explained to me😅) they also have eight eyes but have two of their legs (the front two) are about a third longer than all the rest. Just trying to help and thanks for the article
I live in Arizona and I gotta say the cellar spider is the one we call a daddy long leg. I’ve never seen a huntsman before, and it blew my mind that people called different animals daddy long legs. How fascinating 👏 . Unless it’s some other spider that looks like it but I’m pretty sure. Kids used to pick them up a lot to, they’d say “Its mouth is too small to hurt you”. Is that true? Who knows
The Harvestmen looks too dark to be the Daddy Long Legs I’m accustomed to in Ontario, Canada. It looks closer to a spider with a tiny, tiny tan brown body and very long legs, more akin to the Cellar Spider seen in this article. Now, I’m not sure if Cellar Spiders actually appear in Canada, so it might just be a spider of a different name, but I’m most certain it’s a spider.
Massive props for the spiders warning at the start.. seriously.. I know you’re still crazy for puting them on the thumbnail and people with arachnophobia would never click it.. but you’d be amazed how many sites and blogs about curing arachnophobia.. have a picture of a MASSIVE spider.. like what the fuck.. Julia Gillard lol, that’s hilarious. I’m Australian and this article is very accurate indeedies.
i grew up in the us, and only know daddy long legs as the first one you showed and called a cellar spider. upon further research, they are found all across america, with no mention of australia at all, while wikipedia lists them as being found on every continent except for antarctica. not sure where u got that aussie-centered info grey!
They have proven that daddy long leg spiders do in fact have fangs that can penetrate human skin and that their venom is not the most toxic, it in fact very week and usually only causes a miner stinging sensation that does not last long. There have been many studies on daddy long legs, including a mythbusters episode that proves this to be true.
I saw those British Daddy Longlegs at my camp during the summer (Maine, US), and I didn’t know what they were. All I knew was that due to my fairly bad arachnophobia (yes I mean all arachnids) they completely freaked me out and I wanted them all dead, chucked into a garbage bag, and incinerated. By the way, the reason I watched this article despite my arachnophobia is because for whatever reason being near the things in person scares me, not seeing pictures of them (although that can unsettle me as well sometimes).
I’m not sure if it’s just my family or all of Canada, but the thing I call a daddy long legs wasn’t in this article, it looks a lot like the one in this article that is a spider, but it has six legs, no eyes for all I can tell (but they’re probably just hard to see), it’s extremely dark grey (like as in bordering on the colour of my unplugged television screen), has a bite that stings but doesn’t cause any further reaction as long as you aren’t allergic, and no, it can’t fly.
In Mexico they are called “arañas patudas” which translates to spiders with big legs, and they are just a ball with long thin legs, like the drawing at the beginning. They are definitely not dangerous at all, since there’s even a game where you grab it with your hand and take off leg by leg, until in can’t run away and looks ridiculous trying to escape with 3, 2, 1 or 0 legs and then you leave it to die in misery. Yes, we are cruel.
I’m in California and I’m pretty sure we call the proper cellar spiders “Daddy Long Legs” as well. This could be my memory failing me, but I recall living in the panhandle of Florida (when I was a small child) very close to Alabama and we called a ball with long slender legs “daddy long legs,” much like the guy from Illinois is describing… Though I think I have a faint memory of them spinning web? This is too far back to guarantee much.
I was waiting for you to mention the one some earlier commenters mentioned, the “long-bodied cellar spider”. Had never heard of the ones you brought up in this article, so that was neat. 😀 Also, that’s almost the cutest spider ever. Here, have a spider wearing a tiny hat made of a water droplet. s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/a8/96/f7/a896f72b1640b73ec3ab6beae387721c.jpg
The variety of “Daddy Longlegs” I know is likely more of a cellar spider. It produces webs that get on my nerves, captures flies, which pleases me, doesn’t bite me, which pleases me, and does about the most abhorrent job of actually catching the aforementioned flies, which ultimately does not please me. Whatever species this is, I tolerate them as I do any other lazy roommate because they do no harm other than casting wispy webs of annoyance, push out intruders the same way lactobacillus bacteria do for my insides, create a spooky atmosphere, and occasionally spin webs where I don’t want them. Unfortunately, they’re lazy and will leave a fly or other buzzing insect struggling for a good hour or two while I just get annoyed waiting for them to eat their damn lunch. They’re not deadly as far as I can tell, or even dangerous, and the more of them there are, the fewer black widows (which hurt like hell but aren’t more dangerous to me than bees, though can be deadly to others) and more importantly, brown recluses, which my area is pretty lousy with, haven’t caused me serious harm yet (though left a gigantic welt on my thigh that needed antibiotics to cure, thankfully), and probably do reduce the horsefly population. After a quick Google search, I found that my particular brand is a cellar spider, particularly “pholcus phalangiodes”. Mythbusters in particular studied this specific species, and it is an invasive European spider. They’re annoying, apparently worthless in my experience, and ultimately not good roommates, but I will admit that I’ve seen far fewer of the more dangerous spiders in areas these guys hang out, but they’re still not helping themselves sometimes.
I’m in the US and what I call a Daddy Long Legs looks exactly like your cellar spider. And according to wikipedia, they inhabbit about 90+% of the world. I think only a very very small minority of people call crane flies Daddy Long legs, and I think someone calling a Harvestmen a Daddy Long Legs just saw long legs and assumed it was the same as the spiders that inhabit their basements.
As a note, in the UK we call both harvestmen and crane flies “daddylonglegs” – probably because as children, we didn’t really distinguish between the two. I remember being young and being confused as to why they had the same name once I noticed differences in them, at which point it was explained to me what they both were. Sadly, curiosity seems to be bleeding out of people :/ So raise your children to know the differences, people – they count on you. (That applies to many things)
I’ll just mention that if you would ever like to see more daddy longlegs than you could possibly imagine you should go to Kickapoo caverns in Texas. They are ALL over the ceiling. ALL over it! Huge patches of them. You could fill a few pillow cases with all those damn daddy longlegs. By the way why is a pillow case called a case? It’s a sack obviously, right? My point is that there are a lot of these things in this cave.
Actually, here in the Midwest we call Pholcidae’s daddy long legs which have an ovalish body and are in fact spiders. They do produce venom, have fangs, and could hurt you. That is if their fangs were big enough to puncture human skin. I think that this is the spider that the “misconception” was based off of, not any of the animals (and plant) that you mentioned in your article.
May need an Re: Re: 8 Animal Misconceptions Rundown, because what I call a daddy longlegs (and apparently what a lot of other people call a daddy longlegs) didn’t show up here. What I call a daddy longlegs has an almost copper-ish body that is one piece, and appears to have 8 legs, though what I have heard as an explanation as to why they aren’t spiders is that they actually have 6 legs and 2 really long antennae. Any idea what this is?
Here in Germany we casually call Cellar Spiders Daddy Longlegs too, but also the “regular” Daddy Longlegs, which can cause some confusion. Actually, we don’t call them Daddy Longlegs at all, but “Weberknecht” which translates to “Weaver’s Servant” which is a badass name 😀 To make things worse, i absolutely CANNOT stand Cellar Spiders, but i’m totally okay with any other spider and actual Daddy Longlegs and i have no idea why.
“…venom, but so does everything in that country” -> Sees Yahtzee -> Sees what’s-her-name…Julia? (I’m not a politics person – I can tell, or rant at, you about how Skyward Sword or Pokémon XY or Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door are subpar games, but anything to do with the government…? Yeah, no, I don’t care) -> Pauses article and chuckles at Grey’s humour, as humans cannot literally produce toxins or venoms.
Fun fact, cellar spiders can kill redbacks because they’re so slim that they’re really hard targets to bite, so they can let their weak venom slowly take out the redback while the redback keeps missing its own strike. Basically, they do the equivalent of a poison sting/double team strategy. Not very efficient, but effective enough to be technically illegal in competitive play.