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| L: Long-legged cellar spider (Pholcus phalangioides) R: Eastern Harvestman (Leiobunum vittatum) |
This little drama is so full of irony. The photo shows a non-native spider (commonly called a daddy-long-legs) eating a native arthropod (commonly called a daddy-long-legs) that people think is a spider but isn't. The myths about both of these creatures are hard to overcome. I keep hearing from my kids at school (and even a couple of adults) that the venom of daddy-long-legs is proportionally the most potent stuff on earth. Yet, they do not know that the daddy-long-legs they think they are speaking of is not the one the myth is about.
The spider on the left is a Long-legged cellar spider. It is not native. The scientific name for this true spider is Pholcus phalangioides.
Phalangioides is a combination of Phalangium, "the genus of harvestmen/daddy-longlegs + -oides (οιδης)- "like, resembling" (only seen as an ending)." (Bugguide) I think that this explanation of the name is appropriate considering how humans invent common names for nature. It also explains the "daddy-long-legs" part of the myth: a confusion with common names in different regions of the country.
It is this true spider, the cellar spider, on the left, of which the myth speaks. However, Mythbusters disproved it. Watch "Are Daddy Long Legs Really the Most Venomous Spiders In the World?," a Mythbusters episode. You used to be able to see the episode for free, but now Discovery+ has a paywall around it and all episodes. There are short excerpts on YouTube, if you are interested. These spiders can bite humans, but seldom will unless harassed, and it is not toxic at all.
The animal on the right is an Eastern Harvestman (Leiobunum vittatum). It is native. It is not a spider. It has no venom and no fangs and cannot bite you. They can't even kill their own food and eat dead insects or the eggs of other insects. See "Have You Heard This One?" for lots of good information. This is the animal that people in Vermont, and most of New England, usually call a daddy-long-legs.
In summary:
- Kids in Vermont think the Harvestman is the deadly killer and call it daddy-long-legs.
- Kids in other parts of the country think the cellar spider is the deadly killer and call it daddy-long-legs.
- Both groups are wrong.
- Neither animal kills.
Just to make this post more confusing, both animals are called arachnids, a class of arthropods. I mention this because October is Arachtober, International Spider Month (for real). I have failed in my Arachtober duties, so I will do my best to make amends this coming week. It is a crazy popular event everywhere.
- Arachtober on Twitter
- Arachtober on Flickr
- Other Arachtober links (including Bug Eric and Bug Gwen)
_/\_/\_
