Daddy Longleg spiders...?

Question

My boyfriend says they don't spin webs. I say they do. Who's right?

Answer 1

THIS ANSWER IS CORRECT. I would bet my life on it. Here's the story:
There is a creature that I am very familiar with that I have always known as a daddy longlegs; it has ONE body section and eight appendages. It is creepy and has long skinny legs, but is NOT A SPIDER. And it does NOT spin webs. After a little research, I found that these are not the "official" daddy longlegs, and are "officially" nicknamed Harvestmen.
Now there is also the common house spider, which is ALSO known as daddy long legs (I've always called them house spiders). These skinny legged spiders DO spin webs.
So, to resolve who is wrong/right, check out the links below and decide which creature you are arguing about. Shazaam.

Oh, and Haysoos up there is just as correct as I am. His is the only other answer that is completely correct. So far.

Answer 2

Once again, confusion reigns due to the imprecise nature of common names.

The critter most commonly referred to as a daddy longlegs in North America is an arachnid often called a harvestman. They are opilionines, not spiders, and do not have venom, nor do they spin webs.

In some parts of North America, the critter referred to as a daddy longlegs is actually a type of long-legged cobweb spider. These critters do spin webs, and they do possess venom (although not particularily toxic venom). It is this type of critter that was used on the Mythbusters episode that discussed the daddy longlegs myth, and unfortunately seems to have created more confusion, rather than clarity which was their intent.

In other parts of the world, daddy longlegs can refer to types of craneflies, which look like giant mosquitoes but are completely harmless, or even to totally different types of spiders.

So I guess the answer depends on exactly which daddy longlegs you're referring to.

Answer 3

Around our house we call them mosquito eaters.
There are a few widespread urban legends about these guys. There’s one in particular that I remember: Typically, the story goes, "The daddy longlegs is the most poisonous spider in the world, but its jaws are too weak to bite." Of course this is untrue in many ways. Most important, daddy longlegs don't even possess poison glands. They feed on plant juices and soft insects. And they are not spiders. So logic would suggest that since they are not spiders, they do not spin webs ;)

Answer 4

The answer depends on which country you live in, because the name "daddy longlegs" can refer to different creatures in different countries. In the UK, a daddy longlegs is usually a crane fly (Tipulidae) - an insect, not a spider. In the USA it usually refers to a Harvestman (Opiliones) - which has 8 legs but isn't a spider either, technically. In Australia and NZ it usually refers to a cellar spider (Pholcus Phalangioides). I say usually because even in the same country, some people use daddy longlegs to mean the insect and other people mean the spider or the harvestman. However, all three are harmless to humans. The cellar spider can bite but its venom is so weak it can't harm you. The crane fly does not eat insects or spiders. The Harvestman eats insects, but not spiders. The cellar spider however eats both insects and other spiders, even larger ones than itself.

Answer 5

Well first of all, Daddy long-legs or harvestmen are not spiders at all. They are arachnids, but belong to a seperate class all together. They belong in the class Opiliones which is very close to spiders except for one thing....They lack SPINERETTES, so without those they do not produce silk.

Spiders like the Long-jawed orb weavers and cellar spiders look superficially like daddy long legs, but they are true spiders and do build webs. The best way to tell is to have a look at the body, if there is an obvious "waist" between cephalothorax (head) and the abdomen (butt) then it is a spider and not a daddy long legs. This feature of having a one-piece body, no spinerettes and no venom are what seperate Opiliones form True spiders...

sorry he's right on this one

Answer 6

Sorry, but they don't, because they don't have silk glands. Go to this website...

http://texasnature.blogspot.com/2005/07/daddy-longlegs-are-common-in-summer-by.html

Nunoyvgvn... Awi, the spider that you gave her a link to is not the "traditional" daddy longleg. However, it is called a daddy longleg on that site....so....maybe there are two kinds of daddy longlegs...one that spins webs, and one that doesn't. Interesting.

Answer 7

Yes, they do spin webs. All you have to do to prove to yourself is to leave them alone. Pretty soon they will be spinning webs all over your house. They're easy enough to get rid of - - - just use the vacuum cleaner.

Answer 8

We have loads in the house, we live in the country...and yes they do. Not the intricate webs you normally see but certainly a web of some nature.

Answer 9

Well, come to think of it I've never seen any sitting in a web. Have you? I'm going to go with: They do spin webs.

Answer 10

they do not spin webs silly.. and you know that rumor on how they are the most poisenness spider in the world.. its just that their mouths are too tiny to release enough poisen.. yeah thats an urban myth.. daddy longleggs are actually not poiseness at all.. but no to answer your quetsion daddy long leggs to not spin webs.. look it up.