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Comments & ID Thoughts
Photo 2 of 2. I'm guessing this might be a Yellow Sac Spider, but the mouth parts are not as dark as images on the internet. We quite often find them outside near or inside our child's sandpit. Size is about 10-15mm in length.
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: May 28, 2023
- Photographed: May 20, 2023
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Roodepoort, South Africa
- Spotted Outdoors: Man-made structure (building wall, fences, etc.)
- Found in web?: No
- Attributes:
Yes, officially called long legged sac spider. They can be bitey if trappd agains skin
but they are not medically significant.
Genus Cheiracanthium – Long-legged Sac Spiders – BugGuide.Net
@BugmanDan I have a bitey question for you. Have you ever been bitten by an Opilione/Harvestman ? You have the most getting bitten and venom knowledge of anyone I know. I posted this to a BugGuide forum too. Yesterday I was stung by Ground-nesting bees (arm and neck). Today while weeding a garden I found an Opilione chewing into my arm’s sting wound very aggressively. It managed to pull off a little bit of skin before it jumped off when I tried to film it. So, I’m curious how it sensed the sting, could it smell venom or white blood… Read more »
Opiliones do have mouth parts capable of biting, but they produce no venom or toxins.
They don’t use their mouth parts for defense, they secrete a musk when agitated.
Against their predators, it tase and smells awful.
Now consider, ladybug bettles and preying mantis are capable of biting, and like Opiliones, it is a rare thing. Personally, I have never been bitten by any Harvestman.
We studied venomous arthropds at U of Wa. Suspected spider bites, 85% turned out to be skin conditions. Of 140 confirmed spider bites, 55% were that of long legged sac spiders. This would indicate they are very likely to bite if trapped against the skin.
As for the Opilione chewing the injury, that I don’t know. May have had something to do with pheromones from the bee venom. I have been swarmed by ground dwelling bees myself, not a pleasant experience. Of the many hundreds of spiders I have handled, only 3 bites, one from a Phidippus johnsonii, Trapped between fingers, and provoking a Hogna carolinensis defending babies. That one stung pretty good and tore a little skin. A ground spider in a tray, just decided to bite my finger against it. they pack a good sting. Two other bites from western black widow, typical… Read more »
Thanks! I worry about ticks and mosquitoes, the diseases they carry where I live keeps increasing. I found an Asian Tiger Mosquito in my neighborhood last year. Like you said, I haven’t heard of Opilione bites. It was on my right bicep, I watched it gnaw on me while I tried to film it left-handed, which didn’t work. My left side is numb and recovering from paralysis, I don’t quite have enough dexterity rewired to take left-handed photos quickly yet. I suspect that the scent injured bees release to bring other bees into an attack strongly lured the Opilione. I… Read more »