The term “daddy long legs” refers to multiple distinct creatures with elongated limbs, leading to confusion about their diets. Their feeding habits vary significantly, especially regarding ants. This article clarifies the identities of these animals and details their interaction with ants.
The Creatures Behind the Name
The colloquial name “daddy long legs” can refer to at least three different arthropods, each belonging to a distinct biological group. The most common creatures associated with this name are harvestmen, cellar spiders, and crane flies.
Harvestmen, scientifically classified under the order Opiliones, are arachnids but are not true spiders. Unlike spiders, harvestmen have a fused body that appears as a single oval segment, lacking the distinct waist found in spiders. They also differ from spiders by not possessing venom glands or silk-producing spinnerets, meaning they do not spin webs to catch prey. Harvestmen are globally distributed, with over 6,650 known species found on all continents except Antarctica.
Cellar spiders, belonging to the family Pholcidae, are true spiders. They are characterized by their exceptionally long, thin legs and small, often yellowish-grey bodies. These spiders are frequently found in the corners of homes, basements, and other dark, damp environments. They construct irregular, messy webs to capture their prey.
Crane flies, part of the insect family Tipulidae, are flying insects often mistaken for oversized mosquitoes due to their long, slender legs and bodies. They possess six legs and wings, distinguishing them from the eight-legged arachnids.
The Harvestman’s Varied Diet
Harvestmen are primarily scavengers and omnivores, displaying a broad diet. Their feeding habits involve ingesting small particles of food rather than sucking liquefied prey. They lack fangs and venom, meaning they do not paralyze or kill prey with toxins.
Their diet frequently includes decaying plant and animal matter, fungi, and even bird droppings. They also consume small, soft-bodied invertebrates such as aphids, small caterpillars, and dead insects. Harvestmen are not active hunters of large insects; instead, they often ambush prey or scavenge what they find. While some species may occasionally prey on small live arthropods, ants are not a typical or preferred food source for harvestmen.
The Cellar Spider’s Hunting Strategies
Cellar spiders are predatory arachnids that actively hunt and capture their food using webs. They construct loose, tangled webs in secluded areas like corners of rooms, where they often hang upside down. These webs serve as traps for various insects and other arthropods.
Cellar spiders are known for their ability to hunt and consume other spiders, including larger species like wolf spiders and even venomous spiders such as black widows and hobo spiders, by wrapping them in silk. Their diet includes flies, mosquitoes, moths, and other small insects that become entangled in their webs. While cellar spiders will generally eat anything that gets caught in their web, ants are not a primary food source. Ants possess defensive chemicals and tough exoskeletons, making them less appealing prey, though an ant might occasionally be ensnared and consumed if it wanders into the web.
The Definitive Answer on Ants
The question of whether “daddy long legs” eat ants depends entirely on which creature the term refers to. Harvestmen do not typically consume ants. They are omnivorous scavengers that feed on decaying matter, fungi, and small, soft-bodied insects. Their lack of venom and a preference for scavenging over active predation means ants are not a significant part of their diet.
Cellar spiders are predators that capture prey in their messy webs. While their diet is varied and includes other spiders and various insects, ants are not a preferred food item. An ant may occasionally be caught in a cellar spider’s web, but due to ants’ defensive mechanisms and tough bodies, they are not a primary or consistent food source for these spiders.
Finally, crane flies, which are insects, do not eat ants. Adult crane flies primarily feed on nectar or may not eat at all, while their larvae consume decaying organic matter and plant roots. The widespread belief that “daddy long legs” actively prey on ants is largely a misconception stemming from the ambiguous common name.