![]() And the fangs of this spider, at least on large individuals, actually are long enough and strong enough to pierce human skin (not that these spiders have any interest in doing so).īut the weak venom renders this species harmless. Fake news! The venom turns out to be not especially potent even to the arthropods that are a cellar spider’s usual prey. The worst slander perpetrated against Pholcus phalangioides is that these spiders are highly venomous, and that only the shortness of their fangs prevent them from being dangerous to humans. But the body segments on a harvestman are merged into a single, nearly round object, while a true cellar spider has a more elongated body with a distinct division between the abdomen and the forward sections. “Daddy longlegs” is also a name applied to the Opiliones, a superficially similar group that is only distantly related to the cellar spider.Īlso called harvestmen, Opiliones share the delicate legs of Pholcus. Pholcus is sometimes referred to with the common name “daddy longlegs,” which highlights why serious students of spiders avoid common names altogether in favor of more precise, if sometimes awkward, scientific names. The cellar spider’s habits don’t help much: As their common name suggests, they’re animals of dark, damp places, building their untidy webs in corners or between rafters in cellars, attics, or closets. Many people are misguided enough to find spiders of any sort to be repulsive, and the exaggerated anatomy of a cellar spider seems to make this species especially reviled. But the salient trait of this species is a set of outrageously long, thin legs: On a large female, the span of those threadlike limbs may approach three inches. With a body length ranging up to nearly half an inch, they’re good-size spiders to start with. Like wolf spiders we met in a previous episode, tiny spiderlings also hitch a ride with mom for a short period of time after hatching.These things are, let’s admit, a bit creepy both in appearance and in habits. The egg bundle is toted about in their mother’s jaws to reduce the likelihood of being discovered and eaten by tiny predators. After all this drama, the female lays eggs and encases them in a thin cloak of silk. So, to ensure that he will be the proud father of spiderlings, the male removes sperm placed by his betrothed’s last suitor before he makes his deposit. In the spider mating game, it turns out that sperm from the last mating are the ones most likely to fertilize eggs. Female cellar spiders are not necessarily “you and only you” kinds of gals and will often mate with more than one fella. He then deposits the sperm into a cleft in the female’s abdomen where sperm will be stored until the females uses the little wigglers to fertilize her eggs. ![]() Male cellar spiders deposit a droplet of sperm onto small web, which is then gathered and stored in an appendage called the pedipalp. Mating is a curious affair in many spiders, including Pholcus. However, the cellar spider can bring down formidable spiders including Australian redbacks, kin to our black widow, and the fearsome huntsman who we will meet in an upcoming episode. I have handled cellar spiders and never been bitten and if this rare event did happen, the spider’s bite is reported to be harmless to humans. In the land down under and some other parts of the world, cellar spiders go by the name of daddy-long-legs, a moniker associated with another arachnid, opilionids, which we met in a previous episode. Millions of years ago cellars were noticeably absent from the planet, but caves and dank tree hollows were aplenty and cellar spiders found these habitats perfect for building their loose webs for snaring prey. Beneath the web, exsanguinated bodies of small flies, pill bugs, and beetles piled up on the window sill.Ĭellar spiders are found throughout much of the world in temperate and tropical regions. Just on the other side of the glass, the cellar spider employs the same strategy for trapping small insects drawn to the light of a window in a futile attempt to escape the confines of a basement. In last week’s episode, we met the common house spider that exploits outdoor window frames to string her web and capture prey. Near the corner of one dimly lit window, I discovered a diverse collection of tiny insect carcasses and didn’t have to look far to see a gangly and beautiful cellar spider hiding in the upper corner of the window. ![]() Part of the assignment was to inspect windows and remove any arthropods living or dead that might terrorize visitors who do not share affection for animals lacking fur and possessing more than four legs. With the holiday season fast approaching and family and friends soon to visit, the Bug Guy received orders to prepare the spare bedroom in the basement for overnight guests. ![]()
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