can daddylong legs kill you?

Question

someone told me that the insect daddylong leg could kill you if it could bite you they said they got this info from a animal program

Answer 1

They are putting you on. Those things are harmless to people.

Answer 2

The insect daddylongleg is also called the crane fly. It looks like a large mosquito and they don't even bite humans. The adults live mostly to mate and then die. They are completely harmless to humans.

Now the other two daddylong legs are name for two species of arachnids, one a true spider and the other not a true spider.

The arachnid with long legs that can break off easily is called the harvestman. It is also nicknamed the daddy longlegs. But this arachnid is not a true spider. It has no venom glands whatsoever. The most poisonous or venomous is just a myth. Even those with relatively large ones will never bite a human, and even if it does, it will have no effect for they have no venom.

The third daddy long-leg is actually a type of true spider. Now all spiders are venomous. The daddy long-leg fangs can penetrate human skin, but it's venom is very weak. It might cause a short-lived mild burning sensation,but that's it. Studies shows that the venom is even weak on its effect on insects. It is definitely NOT the most venomous spider. The two species in the United States that can give a serious bite are the brown recluse and the black widow spider.

So I hope this helps.

Answer 3

This is an urban legend that has been around a long time. There are a couple things called Daddy longlegs - one is a harvestman which isn't even a true spider and eats decomposing plant material and then a true spider which does have very small mouth parts but a weak venom anyway. Like already has been said this was on Mythbusters and they had several of the spiders bite Adam and there wasn't even the reaction a mosquito bite would produce.

Answer 4

No, there is no evidence that a Daddy long leg spider venom is extremely toxic. There is no evidence of any Daddy long leg Spider ever killing a human. The only way they could find out if the venom is extremely toxic to people is to inject in in someone, unethical. Plus the most toxic animal known is the poison dart frog. they get there toxin from the insects they eat, whom get the toxin from the plants they eat. The dart frog build the up the toxin and secrets it in a concentrated form.
Most venomous animals poison is not toxic when eating due to the fact venom is a modified saliva

Answer 5

I think we are getting confused here. In the UK the daddy long legs is the 6 legged flying thing, real name Crane Fly. They are harmless although they do like to waft around right into your face causing me to leap vast distances.

The daddy long legs spider 'Pholcus phalangioides' is, as has been said numerous times here highly poisonous but it is incapable of piercing human skins with it's mouth parts. Just as well as I recently found I had been sleeping with my head right next to 1 for several weeks without knowing :O I have seen one capture a fairly big beetle, bite it and wrap it up, scary stuff. The more you know about spiders the more horrible they seem, not less.

Final point: DO NOT KILL EITHER OF THEM! I am against killing anything at all, no matter how far they make me run.

Answer 6

In Australia there are three creatures referred to as "Daddy long legs' the first is a spider - which carries a very toxic venom, but in such small quantities and having fangs that are 0.1 mm long they are considered harmless to any person.
The second is a type of cricket .. which can bite ferociously but other than being painful is harmless
there is also a sea creature (known in some places as Daddy Long legs) this is a type of nudibranch and is harmless to humans

Answer 7

I'd go to the doctors and get it checked out. Appointments might cost a little but I think its worth it if basketball is fun for you :) Plus, in the long run you want to be able to play sports and be active pain free. There are a couple things I can think of though ahead of time - the first is juvenile arthritis or just plain arthritis (depends on your age), the second is simple growing pains (but on an intense level), and the third is you might just have problems if your feet have high arches and the impact hurts your legs. Of course there are plenty of other problems but these are the ones I can think of. Feel better, and goodluck :) Emma

Answer 8

This myth was debunked by Mythbusters on the Discovery channel. They collected hundreds of daddylong legs, and I believe it's Adam exposed his arm to them. He was bitten several times, but didn't even suffer a mild headache. Just in case this test was uneffective, they also milked the venom from a few and injected that into a lab rat - same result the animal lived.

Answer 9

From the answers it seems that there are two kinds of 'Daddy long legs'!! If we are talking about the uk, I think they are called Crane Fly and are completely harmless, I don't think there are any insects resident in uk which can bite/kill you, except in zoos??!!

Answer 10

Now I do not know how reliable my source is (a bunch of drunk counselor from a summer camp I worked at) but I hear that they are actually the most dangerous spider in the world but there mouths are to small to bite humans or to small to inject any of the poison. I do not know if it is true but sounds interesting to me!

Answer 11

Daddylong Legs has one of the most poisonous venoms of the arachnid family but, the mandibles are too small and the venom is in too small a quantity to be fatal to humans.