“Daddy long legs” is a common name that often leads to confusion, as it refers to multiple distinct creatures with long, slender appendages. Understanding which of these animals actually produce silk and build webs requires distinguishing between them. This article clarifies the identities of the creatures typically called “daddy long legs” and their web-making habits.
Unraveling the Name
The term “daddy long legs” commonly describes three different types of creatures: harvestmen, cellar spiders, and crane flies.
Harvestmen, belonging to the order Opiliones, are arachnids, but they are not spiders. Their bodies appear as a single, oval segment with no distinct waist, and they have two eyes on a raised tubercle.
Cellar spiders, members of the family Pholcidae, are true spiders. They possess two distinct body segments—a cephalothorax and an abdomen—and typically have eight eyes. Their long, thin legs often extend five to six times their body length.
Crane flies, classified under the family Tipulidae, are insects, not arachnids. They are large flies with slender bodies, delicate wings, and long, fragile legs. Unlike arachnids, crane flies have three body segments, a single pair of wings, and halteres (small balancing organs).
Web-Making Behavior of Harvestmen
Harvestmen do not produce silk or construct webs. Unlike true spiders, they lack silk glands and spinnerets. Their body structure, with fused segments, also differentiates them.
Harvestmen are primarily scavengers and opportunistic predators, feeding on soft-bodied insects, dead organisms, and decaying plant matter. They hunt by ambushing or actively searching for prey, using their second pair of legs for sensory exploration. Their mouthparts, called chelicerae, are pincer-like and designed for tearing solid food, rather than injecting venom or liquefying prey.
Web-Making Behavior of Cellar Spiders
Cellar spiders are true spiders and build webs. They construct loose, irregular, and messy webs, typically found in undisturbed, damp, dark areas such as basements or sheds. These webs trap prey and provide a dwelling.
When prey becomes entangled, cellar spiders shake their webs to ensnare prey. Their diet includes small insects such as mosquitoes, gnats, and flies. They also prey on other spiders. Cellar spiders continuously add to existing webs rather than building new ones, resulting in significant accumulations of webbing.
Web-Making Behavior of Crane Flies
Crane flies are insects and do not produce silk or build webs. They are flying insects with long, slender bodies and long legs. Their appearance often leads to confusion with large mosquitoes, though they do not bite, and many adults do not feed or only consume nectar.
Crane flies typically inhabit moist environments, such as near lakes, streams, or lush vegetation. Their larvae, sometimes called “leatherjackets,” live in diverse habitats including aquatic environments, moist soil, or decaying organic matter.