These long-legged spiders are in the family Pholcidae. Previously the common name of this family was the cellar spiders but arachnologists have also given them the moniker of "daddy-longlegs spiders" because of the confusion generated by the general public.
Because these arachnids are spiders, they have 2 body basic body parts cephalothorax and abdomen , have 8 eyes most often clumped together in the front of the body, the abdomen shows no evidence of segmentation, have 8 legs all attached to the front most body part the cephalothorax and make webs out of silk.
This is most probably the animal to which people refer when they tell the tale because these spiders are plentiful especially in cellars hence their common name and are commonly seen by the general public. The most common pholcid spiders found in U. Pholcus phalangioides is a uniformly grey spider with rectangular, elongate abdomen and is found throughout the U. Holocnemus pluchei also has a rectangular, elongate abdomen but has a brown stripe on the ventral side the belly side - which is typically directed upwards since the spider hangs upside down in its web which covers its sternum and is a stripe on the abdomen.
These spiders are very common along the Pacific Coast. Daddy-longlegs Opiliones - these arachnids make their living by eating decomposing vegetative and animal matter although are opportunist predators if they can get away with it. They do not have venom glands, fangs or any other mechanism for chemically subduing their food. Therefore, they do not have injectable toxins. Some have defensive secretions that might be toxic to small animals if ingested.
So, for these daddy-long-legs, the tale is clearly false. Daddy-longlegs spiders Pholcidae - Here, the myth is incorrect at least in making claims that have no basis in known facts. There is no reference to any pholcid spider biting a human and causing any detrimental reaction. If these spiders were indeed deadly but couldn't bite humans, then the only way we would know that they are toxic is by milking them and injecting the venom into humans.
For a variety of reasons including Amnesty International and a humanitarian code of ethics, this research has never been done. They are cream to pale brown. Some species have darker markings on their legs and abdomen. Daddy-long-legs Spiders are found in most urban areas, in particular houses.
They make a thin, tangled web in sheltered positions were they are unlikely to be disturbed, such as under furniture, behind doors, in the corner of the ceilings, in sheds, in garages and under decks. Its successful use of these human-made structures has made it one of the most common spiders in Australia. If the Daddy-long-legs Spider is disturbed in the web it responds by setting up a a very fast, spinning motion, becoming a blur to anyone watching..
Get our monthly emails for amazing animals, research insights and museum events. The Daddy-long-legs Spider, Pholcus phalangioides, is found throughout Australia. It is a cosmopolitan species that originates from Europe and was introduced accidently into Australia.
There is a persistent belief that the Daddy-long-legs Spider has the most toxic venom of all spiders. It takes about 1 year for a baby Daddy-long-legs to reach adulthood. They can then live up to another 2 years as an adult.
In that time a female can have up to 8 clutches of 50 or more eggs. Yet despite their apparent harmlessness, Daddy-long-legs have little trouble catching, wrapping and killing much larger Huntsman spiders. They have even been known to catch Redback spiders and Funnel-web spiders, both of which are far larger and more toxic than the Daddy-long-legs. When a Huntsman , Redback or Funnel-web is walking along, the Daddy-long-legs can simply reach down and haul the more dangerous but shorter-legged spider into its web.
It swiftly wraps up its prey before the captor can get close enough to harm the Daddy-long-legs. Once the more deadly spider is immobilised, it is easy to bite and kill. Larger, heavier spiders are particularly vulnerable as they walk across a slippery smooth surface. So, while their messy webs might make the Daddy-long-legs appear unsightly, they might well be preventing far more undesirable spiders from taking up residence in our homes.
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