True daddy longlegs are harvestmen, not spiders. The Arachnida class includes harvestmen, mites, scorpions, Solifugae (camel spiders), spiders, ticks, and may include horseshoe crabs. While Opiliones are arachnids, they are not spiders. This group belongs to the Opiliones order. There are 6,000 to 10,000 species of daddy longlegs worldwide and they’ve been around for 400-million years, with very few changes. Members of the Pholcidae family, these arachnids go by several different names: carpenter spider, long daddy, marbled cellar spider, skull spider, vibrating spider, granddaddy longlegs, and daddy longlegs, hence the confusion.ĭaddy longlegs have fatter bodies than cellar spiders, and they have a brown stripe on their belly. In a classic win-win situation, cellar spiders are “synanthropic”, meaning they benefit from living near us, too. This makes cellar spiders helpful in the house and the garden, reducing the number of potentially dangerous spiders. Funnel weaver spiders, hobo spiders, huntsmen, house spiders, and redback spiders are all favorites of the cellar spider. Instead, a fatal bite turns the host spider into the next meal. They will often shake the webs of neighboring spiders to trick them into thinking a tasty snack has been trapped. Rather than feeding exclusively on flies and gnats, cellar spiders prefer eating other spiders. After being consumed, prey are removed from the web and their empty husks are dropped to the ground. Prey become entangled, are bitten, and then thoroughly wrapped up to be eaten later. These webs are not sticky, just confusing. These spiders hang upside down from their webs and will shake them when they feel threatened.Ĭellar spiders build messy, irregularly-shaped webs, which are often found in caves, under loose bark, and in the upper corners of many living rooms, garages, and attics. Cellar spiders may be gray, tan, or brown and they often have chevron markings. If you are willing to get close enough to see they may have 6 or 8 eyes, arranged in groups of 3 or 4, respectively. These spiders have oval- or peanut-shaped bodies and extremely long, delicate legs. The long-legged spiders most of us see are cellar spiders. If there are no wings present, it’s a spider. This includes barley, corn, lemongrass, millet, oats, rye, sorghum, and wheat. Crane fly larvae feed on the crowns, leaves, and roots of your lawn and other members of the grass family (Poaceae or Gramineae). As children, we called them mosquito-eaters because we thought they ate mosquitoes. Crane flies are the recipient of a different urban myth. If you see a daddy longlegs with wings, it’s a crane fly.
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