Daddy Long-Legs Spider (a.k.a. Cellar Spider)
Bites, Toxicity, Nomenclature - Dispelling the Myths
Aug 24, 2009
Many people think they have seen a daddy long-legs. In most cases, they are right, although not quite in the way they might think. The daddy long-legs spider, also known as the cellar spider, is by no means a rare sight. Nevertheless, humans adopt some strange and inaccurate beliefs regarding spiders, and beliefs pertaining to daddy long-legs are no exceptions.
This article takes a look at the facts and the myths surrounding the daddy long-legs spider.
- Myth 1: It's Called a Daddy-Longlegs. Or is it a Daddy Long Legs? Granddaddy Longlegs? Cellar Spider? Long-Legged Death Dealer?
People seem generally confused about the true name (and spelling of it) of this spider.
- Fact: It's All of the Above (minus the death dealer).
References to this spider may use any of a number of names, including: daddy-longlegs, granddaddy-longlegs, daddy long-legs, daddy longlegs, cellar spider, house spider, vibrating spider . . . The list of variations goes on, and they all accurately refer to the same spider (if dealing with a spider). Spelling-wise, "daddy long-legs" seems to be grammatically correct. However, most scientific journals seem to go with either the "daddy-longlegs" or "daddy long-legs" version. Merriam-Webster's On-Line Dictionary lists them as "daddy longlegs." To each his own.
- Myth 2: A Daddy Long-legs Isn't a Spider. It's Not even an Arachnid.
Name confusion aside, are daddy long-legs properly classified as spiders? More importantly, can one determine if what he or she is looking at is, in fact, a daddy long-legs spider? To increase confusion, what if there is more than one bug called "daddy long-legs?"
- Fact: "Daddy Long-legs" Refers to a Spider, Another Arachnid, and an Insect
A daddy long-legs is one of three different, unrelated arthropod species, only one of which is a spider. The species most accurately referred to as "daddy long-legs" isn't a spider at all. It is, however, a fellow Arachnida class member, belonging to the order Opiliones.
Also called a harvestman, the true daddy long-legs bears some similarities to a spider. According to the Department of Entomology at the University of California, Riverside, these creatures have "one basic body segment which shows segmentation on the posterior portion, at most 2 eyes and all 8 legs [that] attach to the pill-like body segment." They live under rocks and logs, preferring a damp habitat in the temperate Northern hemisphere. "They are never found in webs unless they are being eaten by spiders."
Conversely, the daddy long-legs spider is found worldwide - everywhere except the frozen regions of Northern Canada and the Arctic Circle. They are most common along the Pacific Coast. Also known as cellar spiders, these daddy long-legs spin their irregular webs in caves, basements, and other undisturbed areas, both outside and inside.
According to the University of California's Entomology Department, these arachnids have two "basic body parts (cephalothorax and abdomen), have 8 eyes most often clumped together in the front of the body, the abdomen shows no evidence of segmentation, [and] have 8 legs all attached to the front most body part (the cephalothorax)." As their name suggests, their legs are very long in proportion to their tiny bodies.
A third animal referred to as "daddy long-legs" isn't even an arachnid. It is the insect also known as the crane fly. Some species of this fly can be over two inches long with large wing spans and, of course, long legs. Crane flies are more commonly called daddy long-legs in the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, and other areas outside of the U.S. and Canada.
- Myth 3: Daddy Long-Legs Have the Deadly Venom, but Their Fangs are Too Short to Pierce Human Flesh.
For whatever reason, there exists the fable that daddy long-legs are the most poisonous spiders in North America, if not the world. The only reason they are harmless to humans is that their fangs are too short to penetrate human skin.
- Fact: Daddy Long-Legs are Not Poisonous to Humans
Like most misconceptions and urban legends regarding spiders, this unsupportable tale is believed by many without question. At the outset, both daddy long-legs the harvestman and daddy long-legs the crane fly are venomless and fangless. Thus, the commonplace cellar spider must be the focus of this misguided rumor.
Let's think about this logically. How could someone determine the effects of a daddy long-legs spider bite to humans if the spider's bite cannot pierce human skin tissue? Did the so-called expert siphon venom from the spider's tiny venom sacs? Did he or she milk the spider's fangs and inject the venom into a human guinea pig?
Here's what the arachnologists over at the University of California, Riverside have to say:
"There is no reference to any pholcid spider [read "daddy long-legs"] biting a human and causing any detrimental reaction . . . 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 poisonous is just that: a myth. There is no scientific basis for the supposition that they are deadly poisonous and there is no reason to assume that it is true." (emphasis added)
Cellar spiders do have short fangs due to their uncate fang structure. But so do brown recluse spiders, which have bitten humans. There are simply no known facts to support the myth.
Still not convinced? Maybe pop culture can reverse popular myth. In Episode 13 of the Discovery Channel's MythBusters, one of the show's hosts, Adam Savage, tested the daddy long-legs myth. He bravely sacrificed his flesh to the bite of the "deadly" daddy long-legs. Savage reported a slight burning sensation that quickly disappeared, nothing more.
In great numbers, the cellar spider has harmlessly lived amongst humans for centuries. It's one "pest" that helps eliminate other pests. It is not walking cyanide. Still, eating it is not recommended.
For information on North America's harmful or poisonous spiders, see this author's articles on hobo, black widow, and brown recluse spiders.
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