Is 'Daddy Long Legs' a spider or not?

Answer 1

There is a lot of misinformation among the various
answers to this question, as well as correct data.
It is true that there are three different things (at
least) known as daddylonglegs. In Britain this
name is used for craneflies, the family Tipulidae
in the order Diptera (probably in other parts of
the British Commonwealth, also, but not in the
United States). Craneflies look like big mosquitoes
but do not bite and are not poisonous. The other
things called daddylonglegs belong to two
different orders of arachnids, Araneae, the spiders
and Opiliones or Phalangida, the daddylonglegs
proper or harvestmen. The daddylonglegs spiders
more often called cellar spiders do have venom, as do almost all spiders, but they have tiny fangs,
have little inclination to bite anything large, and
are, as far as anyone knows, completely harmless
to humans. I've never heard of a person's being
bitten by one of these. They belong to the family
Pholcidae. The "true" daddylonglegs, are NOT
venomous. This myth seems to have originated
in just the last 15-20 years, how or where I have
no idea. It is completely false. These phalangids
or opilionids produce chemicals as predator repellents, and often have a bad smell as a result.
These chemicals might be poisonous if swallowed
but not very many people are likely to swallow them.

Answer 2

no its not a spider but there are 2 different kinds one is a spider the other is not

Daddy-longlegs (Opiliones) - these arachnids make their living by eating decomposing vegetative and animal matter although are opportunist predators if they can get away with it. They do not have venom glands, fangs or any other mechanism for chemically subduing their food. Therefore, they do not have poison and, by the powers of logic, cannot be poisonous from venom. Some have defensive secretions that might be poisonous to small animals if ingested. So, for these daddy-long-legs, the tale is clearly false.

Daddy-longlegs spiders (Pholcidae) - Here, the myth is incorrect at least in making claims that have no basis in known facts. There is no reference to any pholcid spider biting a human and causing any detrimental reaction. If these spiders were indeed deadly poisonous but couldn't bite humans, then the only way we would know that they are poisonous is by milking them and injecting the venom into humans. For a variety of reasons including Amnesty International and a humanitarian code of ethics, this research has never been done. 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

Answer 3

There are at least three creatures that are called daddy longlegs, two are spiders.

Crane fly (tipulidae) - a group of insects also known as mosquito eaters.
Harvestman (hadrobunus grandis) - an arachnid but not a spider; related to mites.
Daddy long-legs spider, house spider (pholcus phalangioides) - actually a spider; the myth about it being highly poisonous has never been scientifically tested.

Answer 4

The creatures most correctly called daddy-longlegs are in their own separate Order which is Opiliones. Common names for this Order are 1) daddy-longlegs, 2) harvestmen and 3) opilionids. They are characterized by having one basic body segment which shows segmentation on the posterior portion, at most 2 eyes and all 8 legs attach to the pill-like body segment. They are usually found under logs and rocks, prefer moist habitat although they can be found in the desert, often have long flexible legs (in the temperate Northern hemisphere but there are also short-legged daddy-longlegs) and they do not produce silk so therefore they are never found in webs unless they are being eaten by spiders. Because they are found under logs and other stuff which people most often are not turning over, most folks don't run into daddy-longlegs very often.

Another creature often called daddy-longlegs are actually spiders. These long-legged spiders are in the family Pholcidae. Previously the common name of this family was the cellar spiders but arachnologists have also given them the moniker of "daddy-longlegs spiders" because of the confusion generated by the general public.

Answer 5

The daddy long legs IS a spider. It's also among the most venomous of spiders, even more than the black widow and all others. The only reason you don't hear of any deaths or illnesses from a daddy long legs bite is that they can NOT penetrate skin. Their prey consists of small flies, & other flying insects in which they can penetrate their surface.

Answer 6

Yes daddy long legs is a spider...

Answer 7

It is certainly a movie...
.. and to your question 'The Pholcidae, or daddy long legs spiders, is a large family with a worldwide distribution'.

Answer 8

it is a spider and believe it or not it is one of the most poisonous. they cant get enough in you at one time, but if they could, they would be feared worse than the black widow or brown recluse

Answer 9

yup, and they're more poisonous than black widows, but can't administer the venom.... tiny mouths

Answer 10

http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/daddylonglegs.html
Here is an interesting site.