Other critters that are arachnids include scorpions, mites, and ticks, and those arthropods are certainly not spiders. In fact, arachnids are not insects either. Insects are animals with six legs, wings, or antennae. Arachnids have none of the above. The daddy longlegs belongs to the order Opiliones. Unlike in spiders, the number of eyes of daddy longlegs, as well as body type, sex organs, and defensive mechanisms, are all different. In opilionids, the head, thorax, and abdomen are fused into one thoracic cavity.
Spiders, of the order Araneae, have a distinct waist between the cephalothorax and the abdomen. Opilionids have just two eyes, compared to the usual eight in spiders. Daddy longlegs also do not produce silk, unlike spiders. They do not spin webs, and they do not use webs to capture prey. If you find a harvestman in a web, it does not live there. It probably would like to be rescued from the spider that is about to eat it.
Finally, daddy longlegs are not venomous. They do not have fangs, nor venom glands. Most spiders, with only a few exceptions, produce venom. Daddy longlegs stink when threatened, thanks to defensive stink glands, which have been observed to repulse predators.
Daddy longlegs are usually extremely well camouflaged. During the day, many of them hide in crevasses, and when disturbed, they usually curl up and remain motionless for several minutes by playing dead—which works extraordinarily well. Anyone who has tried to catch a daddy longlegs knows they have a tendency to shed their legs. Grab one by the foot, and it promptly lets go of the entire leg and runs off.
They will voluntarily shed legs to get away from predators, but sadly a new appendage does not grow back if it is already full grown. For a variety of reasons including Amnesty International and a humanitarian code of ethics, this research has never been done. Furthermore, there are no toxicological studies testing the lethality of pholcid venom on any mammalian system this is usually done with mice.
Therefore, no information is available on the likely toxic effects of their venom in humans, so the part of the myth about their being especially dangerous is just that: a myth.
There is no scientific basis for the supposition that they are deadly and there is no reason to assume that it is true. What about their fangs being too short to penetrate human skin? Pholcids do indeed have short fangs, which in arachnological terms is called "uncate" because they have a secondary tooth which meets the fang like the way the two grabbing parts of a pair of tongs come together. Brown recluse spiders similarly have uncate fang structure and they obviously are able to bite humans.
There may be a difference in the musculature that houses the fang such that recluses have stronger muscles for penetration because they are hunting spiders needing to subdue wandering prey whereas pholcid spiders are able to wrap their prey and don't need as strong a musculature. So, again, the myth states as fact something about which there is no scientific basis. For true daddy-long-legs, the opilionids, the myth is certainly false, and for the daddy-long-legs spiders it is certainly not based on known facts.
Have you heard this one? Definitions One area of confusion is with the terms "venomous" and "poisonous" which are not interchangeable. However, "venomous" is an anatomical description and does not necessarily imply universal effect.
There are many venomous animals whose venom works on their insect prey but are harmless to humans. Similarly, "poisonous" is an anatomical description of an organism which produces a compound in a gland that is usually transferred by contact or ingestion. Poison oak causes dermal injury in humans but deer readily eat the plant so "poisonous" does not imply universal effect.
Chemicals can also be poisonous. They're more likely to be found in storage rooms or attic spaces. Do cellar spiders jump? If you have a spider jumping at you when you go into your cellar or basement, it probably is not actually a spider. It is more likely to be a spider cricket, also referred to as a cave cricket, camel cricket, camelback cricket, humpbacked cricket, spricket or cave weta.
They do have a lot of names. Fortunately, they're not spiders. They don't have venom and they aren't likely to bite you. Do cellar spiders eat silverfish? We actually get this question a lot. Silverfish are destructive pests and it might be worth having spiders in your cellar if they're eating all the silverfish that are getting in. Well, we have good news and bad news. The good news is that cellar spiders eat silverfish. The bad news is that they're not going to eat every single silverfish that gets into your home.
They're pretty lousy pest control professionals. When you find cellar spiders in your cellar or basement, the next logical question is How do spiders get inside? There are a few things that can help you combat spiders and reduce spider populations. If you need assistance keeping spiders and other pests out of your cellar, remember that the team at Keller's Pest Services is standing by to help.
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