Daddy Long Legs

INTRODUCTION The name 'Daddy-Long-Legs' has been used for at least two different kinds of arachnids - spiders and harvestmen.The animal which most biologists call "daddy-long-legs", is a spider, Pholcus phalangioides, which belongs to the spider family Pholcidae, order Araneida, class Arachnida. Pholcid spiders are araneomorph spiders which kill and digest their prey using venom. However there is no scientific basis for the urban myth that daddy-long-legs are the most venomous, poisonous or toxic spiders in the world. Daddy-long-legs spiders have venom glands and fangs but their tiny fangs are fused at the base and they cannot open their jaws wide enough to bite humans. As they cannot bite humans, their venom has not been studied in detail.
HABITAT However daddy-long-legs kill and eat other spiders, including Redback Spiders whose venom can be fatal to humans. Perhaps this is the origin of the rumour that daddy-long-legs are the most venomous spiders in the world. It might be argued that if they can kill a deadly spider, they must be even more deadly themselves, but daddy-long-legs only need to be quicker to bite, not more venomous.

INTRODUCTION

HABITAT