2006-09-20 22:17:30 · 15 answers · asked by miraclespoondiets 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Trivia
The Myth: Daddy Longlegs are the most poisonous spiders, only their fangs can not bite threw skin.
The Myth = FALSE!
There are three types of bugs referred to as Daddy Longlegs.
1. Daddy-longlegs (Opiliones) = The most common Daddy Longlegs is not even a spider. Its true name is Harvestmen from the order of Opiliones. They have one body section, two eyes, and don’t spin silk. They do not even have fangs, or poison glands. They eat vegetation and decomposing animal matter. So obviously this one is not poisonous, and it can not bite in the sense that spiders do.
2. Daddy-longlegs spiders (Pholcidae) = The second most common of the Daddy Longlegs name. These are actually spiders. While they do have shorter fangs then some, their fangs are about the same as a brown recluse in structure and size. Obviously brown recluse spiders can pierce skin, so can these. However their poison is not nearly toxic enough to cause any sort of reaction. On myth busters they actually did tests and research on the toxicity of their venom, and proven it is very weak. It causes less irritation then a mosquito bite, and is has a weak affect even on insects. So both of the myths are once again false.
3. Daddy-longlegs (Crane Fly) = The least common Daddy Longlegs is the crane fly. Once again not even a spider, its not even poisonous.
So in summary.
The Myth Is FALSE!
Only 1 of the 3 has any poison. And the one that does have poison, can bite, but the poison is extremely weak and causes very little irritation. You should fear the garden variety mosquitoes more.
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spid...daddyvenom.html
http://spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.html
2006-09-20 22:27:49 · answer #1 · answered by away right now 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
"Possible envenomation
Is there any truth to this oft-repeated tale?
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.
What about their fangs being too short to penetrate human skin? Pholcids do indeed have short fangs, which in arachnological terms is called "uncate" because they have a secondary tooth which meets the fang like the way the two grabbing parts of a pair of tongs come together. Brown recluse spiders similarly have uncate fang structure and they obviously are able to bite humans. There may be a difference in the musculature that houses the fang such that recluses have stronger muscles for penetration because they are hunting spiders needing to subdue prey whereas pholcid spiders are able to wrap their prey and don't need as strong a musculature. So, again, the myth states as fact something about which there is no scientific basis."
2006-09-21 05:21:30 · answer #2 · answered by Jhan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Daddy longlegs (crane flies) are insects and are completely harmless. Their larvae can damage your lawn, that's about all the harm they do. They spend a year in the ground eating roots, then a few days bumbling around as adults, don't be too mean to them!
2006-09-21 05:28:24 · answer #3 · answered by Sangmo 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it's true. They are one of the most poisonous spiders in the world yet their mouths are too small to cause harm to human beings. They feed instead on very small prey like aphids.
2006-09-21 05:26:05 · answer #4 · answered by synchronicity915 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is myth, however they can bite, the problem they have is that their mouths are exceedingly small, and is about like a human biting a beach ball, they just can't get their mouths to open that big.
2006-09-21 07:03:40 · answer #5 · answered by gifted 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have heard that is true. Apparently they're bite is not strong enough to break skin therefore no poison enters into bloodstream.
2006-09-21 05:23:28 · answer #6 · answered by JEM 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes they would be one of the most poisonous spiders around BUT their mouths are to small
2006-09-21 05:25:47 · answer #7 · answered by Raelene H 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
True,they can't bite. If they could they could deliver a
very posionous bite equal to a rattlesnake bite,I believe.
2006-09-21 10:41:48 · answer #8 · answered by caroline j 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes they are the most poisonous but thankfully they can't bite
2006-09-21 06:41:20 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are as harmless as breathing clean air. Do not fret over those harmless creatures.
2006-09-21 06:39:08 · answer #10 · answered by Redeemer 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋