People use the name "daddy longlegs" to refer to two similar-looking but different arachnids. One is a harvestman, or Opilionid, and the other is a spider that belongs to the family Pholcidae.
Identification
The harvestman has one round body segment, two eyes and eight legs. Daddy longlegs spiders have two body parts: the cephalothorax and abdomen. They have eight eyes and produce silk.
Harvestman's Food
The harvestman eats decomposing animals and plants. According to Backyardnature.com, it also eats aphids, caterpillars, flies, snails, fungi and beetles. It doesn't have fangs or venom glands.
Spider's Food
The daddy longlegs spider has been known to raid webs in search of eggs, captured prey and even other spiders to eat.
Harvestman's Predator
For the harvestman, birds are a common predator. It emits a foul odor to ward them off.
Spider Myth
You'll often hear people say that the daddy longlegs spider's venom is deadly to humans but that it can't bite people because its fangs are too short. However, neither part of this myth has been proved, according to the University of California, Riverside.
References
Photo Credits
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Dario Lo Presti/iStock/Getty Images
Writer Bio
Kimberly Laurent has been writing professionally since 2004. She has been a staff writer for "The Courier," and is currently a contributing writer on eHow, where her specialty topics include animals and beauty. Laurent is earning a bachelor's degree in English literature at Columbus State University.
