Metaphalangium Albounilineatum Is Daddy Longlegs, Daddy-Long-Legs, Harvest-Spiders, Shepherd Spiders As Well As Granddaddy Graybeards
Every wintertime nosotros accept a few fun creatures living inward the garden shed along alongside our plants. There are e'er Daddy Long Legs. Last calendar week I was out at that topographic point transplanting seedlings as well as it crawled upwards onto the shelf where I was working, wandered approximately the plants as well as so discovered me. Yikes! Quick turnaround as well as dorsum downwards into the pots on the floor.These gentle creatures accept no venom or toxicant alongside which to stun their prey (or us).
They are non spiders (arachnid). And, they compass non spin webs.
They are Opilliones (or Opiliones) which agency aphid sucker pregnant they are perfect guests inward a garden shed where aphids abound. Here's a National Geographic video of a Daddy Long Legs ingesting an aphid as well as winning a struggle alongside a large beetle.
Their nutrient consists of aphids, beetles, caterpillars, ants, earthworms, flies, mites, minor slugs, snails as well as spiders according to Galveston County Master Gardeners. "The cite Harvestmen comes from their beingness seen inward belatedly summertime as well as autumn at harvest time. Other mutual names include harvest-spiders, shepherd spiders (because of the way males guard females during egg-laying) as well as the Native Americans telephone telephone them granddad graybeard, pregnant "Feet of Hairs.""
Other fun facts: they accept two eyes, their legs are vii jointed, they emit a foul scent when threatened, they are mostly introverts that move alone, they alive inward organic affair over the winter, they construct clean every leg afterwards eating, as well as are by as well as large beneficial.
They are eaten past times large spiders as well as birds.
The Burke Museum points out that Daddy Long Legs is a misnomer as well as nosotros should all telephone telephone them Harvestmen to boot the bucket along things clear.
According to the UCR Spiders Site, "The creatures most correctly called daddy-longlegs are inward their ain split Order which is Opiliones. Common names for this Order are 1) daddy-longlegs, 2) harvestmen as well as 3) opilionids.
They are characterized past times having 1 basic trunk segment which shows sectionalization on the posterior portion, at most two eyes as well as all 8 legs attach to the pill-like trunk segment.
They are normally flora nether logs as well as rocks, prefer moist habitat although they tin sack live on flora inward the desert, oftentimes accept long flexible legs (in the temperate Northern hemisphere only at that topographic point are equally good short-legged daddy-longlegs) as well as they compass non compass silk so thus they are never flora inward webs unless they are beingness eaten past times spiders. Because they are flora nether logs as well as other materials which people most oftentimes are non turning over, most folks don't encounter daddy-longlegs real often."
Actually, that final flake nearly non seeing them real oftentimes isn't at all truthful for us. They crawl the exterior walls of the describe solid regularly inward the summer/fall as well as alive quite happily inward the heated garden shed all winter.