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Daddy Long Legs

PHOLCUS PHALANGIODES

DADDY-LONG-LEGS
The animal which most biologists call "daddy-long-legs", is a spider, Pholcus phalangioides, which belongs to the spider family Pholcidae, order Araneida, class Arachnida. Pholcid spiders are araneomorph spiders which kill and digest their prey using venom. However there is no scientific basis for the urban myth that daddy-long-legs are the most venomous, poisonous or toxic spiders in the world. Daddy-long-legs spiders have venom glands and fangs but their tiny fangs are fused at the base and it is rare for human to be bitten as their jaws do not open very wide. Their venom has not been studied in detail. As far as Dr Mike Gray (senior arachnologist at the Australian Museum) knows, there is no evidence in the scientific literature to suggest that the venom of daddy-long-legs could harm humans. There is also not much scientific evidence to suggest whether or not they can bite humans, this seems to be part of the myth as well!! However daddy-long-legs kill and eat other spiders, including Redback Spiders whose venom CAN be fatal to humans. Perhaps this is the origin of the rumour that daddy-long-legs are the most venomous spiders in the world. It might be argued that if they can kill a deadly spider, they must be even more deadly themselves, but daddy-long-legs only need to be quicker to bite, not more venomous.

16 November, 2009:
I HOPE YOU CAN USE SOME OF MY PICTURES ON YOUR WEBSITE! MC

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30 September, 2008:
Here's a Daddy Long Legs I discovered in my house in Aliso Viejo (south of Los Angeles) two years ago. A tiny little spider with a Napoleonic complex! You can use my picture. Jim

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30 August, 2008:
hello, i was visiting you site looking for the answer to how long the incubation period for spiders is. i have had this spider sitting on my wall for over a week now.... and was wondering when the eggs may hatch. i'm in the UK

8 June, 2008:
Hi, I was helping my sister clean out her closet and when I reached up to get the shelf items, I was horrified to find a clan of spiders. They look like Daddy Long Legs but with a different body. They're at least 3 inches with legs. I have got a picture of one, can you help me? We live in Chesapeake, Virginia right on the NC/VA line.

2005:
Hey I've visited your site a lot and used to be very scared of spiders but now its almost like I've got used to them as we get a lot in this house. I find them fascinating and the other day I noticed a daddy long legs was sitting in my wardrobe with some eggs in its mouth. This morning I looked and they had all hatched! David

HARVESTMEN
The other eight-legged invertebrates which are sometimes called "daddy-long-legs", are members of the order Opiliones or Opilionida in the class Arachnida. Biologists generally call these animals 'harvestmen' (e.g. the CSIRO Handbook (ed. Ian Naumann) cited above). Unlike spiders, they only have one part to their bodies and their bodies do not have a 'waist' and they do not produce silk; they normally have only one pair of eyes. They do not have venom glands or fangs, although they  may produce noxious defence secretions. Most harvestmen eat smaller invertebrates but some eat plant material and others feed on carcasses of dead mammals and birds.

3 January, 2010:
Hi Glen, Great website -- thanks. Here's a couple of spiders that I can't identify from my yard. I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I apologize for the lack of clarity in my pictures, I'm still learning to use the macro setting on my camera.  The other one was in my garden, and the body is not very big -- maybe about the diameter of a pea, or a little smaller. And.. I believe I've identified the last spider correctly, as a grass spider, thanks to your website. Let me know if I'm wrong! Thanks for your help. -- Sue

24 October, 2009:
My dad and I were walking through the woods yesterday in central Illinois and when we picked up and old brick, we discovered this odd looking spider. We have been unable to identify it even though we looked at all your pictures. We were wondering if you had any clue as to what spider this could be. There is a picture attached. Thank you for your help.

6 August, 2009:
Hi Glen, I have looked all over the web for anything that looks like this and haven't been able to find anything. I visited your site and still didn't see anything else like it. I hope you can help. I've only seen this one time, I was moving my coconut palm inside from outdoors and this may have dropped off the bottom of the pot and started crawling back outside (not quickly though). It was about an inch long total. Is it even a spider? I live in NE oklahoma.

6 August, 2009:
Here is a photo I took today of a corn “spider condo”. It is a daddy long legs that has been residing in my corn growing in a container pot on the patio. He’s been living in it for about 2 weeks now and comes out regularly to get in the sun so took a photo with my digital camera. It turned out clear and good of him. Credit {if used} Susan Lauraine.

9 August, 2008:
Glen could you possibly tell me what spider this is. It came out of a drum which came from the China area Dave

Hello Glen, I was hiking along side a creek bed and I saw this cave structure and I happened to spot a Orchard spider around the rocks in the entrence of this cave-like openeing. I happened to also see some Harvestman by the area as well. I kept trying to look inside the opening to see if I could see anything. A minute or two latter I heard this ruffling inside the cave and I thought it was some sort of mammal (i.e. a skunk or snake maybe). Then I heard this low frequency high pitch streetching noise coming and some sort of whistling of grass noise as well. Instantly after, 200+ harvestman spiders were rushing out of the cave. It was an amazing sight to see.