Hi, this looks like a harvestman. They are a different kind of arachnid than spiders are. This one is odd with its chelacerae that look like doll legs.
We call these Daddy Long Legs. Lots in Southeast Alaska. I never thought the were poisonous but people say they are but their mouths are too small to bite…. I don’t know what to think about that.
Hi, yes some harvestman are called daddy long legs. Nope, not poisonous. A rumor started online about them being the most venomous spider in the World or something like that. I don’t know what that was about, they aren’t dangerous. Harvestmen (family Opiliones) don’t have venom. Unlike spiders these arachnids have the ability to chew food. Yes their mouths are tiny. 🙂 One other major type of spider called daddy long legs are cellar spiders in family Pholcidae. They aren’t remotely close to being the deadliest critters on Earth. We’ve been talking recently on this site about how many of… Read more »
Hi, that myth targeted the cellar spider, also called daddy longlegs. Certainly false on both points of the myth. cellar spiders can indeed bite human skin if they so chose, I have yet to provoke a bite, Also, their venom is so mild, and fangs so small, many may not even notice a bite. These Opiliones have no fangs and simply not known to bite, even huge ones like my Herman. Their mouths have developed to scavenge on decaying leaf litter, rotting woods and organic fibers, they scavenge on dead insects, but they can opportunistically feed on small live insects… Read more »
If you have ever smelled a stink bug, those taste a bit like they smell, these are not as bad or strong as stink bugs, a different odor. Never eaten a harvestman, have inadvertently ingested a couple stink bugs, best I can say is not palatable,(awful)(yuck)needs a lot of sugar or chocolate to help. I would venture a guess, Opiliones are not as bad to the same. I have witnessed toddlers eating them,nothing like biting into a lemon. The consumption of a great many arthropods is more healthy than any threat, even black widow spiders. Just not something widely accepted… Read more »
Ride motorcycles long as I have, it is bound to happen. Kept bees a while also.
4 in the mouth I know of among the numbers of unknown insects. The flies like my coffee, can’t fathom how many I swallowed. In a discussion circle, the subject of swallowing spiders while sleeping came up, and some searching yielded this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yek6wTeLw9o
As for eating spiders while sleeping, Rod Crawford explains it: https://www.burkemuseum.org/blog/myth-you-swallow-spiders-your-sleep
Rods myth site has a lot of things you probably never knew about spiders.
I’m glad it is motorcycle-related. What brand of coffee attracts flies? My problem is black flies getting in my eyes. I’ve had awful bouts of poison ivy swelling of my face from forgetting that I touched poison ivy when I rub my eyes to get the flies out. These conversations should scare off some readers from this site! My mom is mostly deaf in one ear from a tick-bourne infection from a tick in her ear. At least spiders getting into orifices isn’t nearly as common.
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Hi, this looks like a harvestman. They are a different kind of arachnid than spiders are. This one is odd with its chelacerae that look like doll legs.
We call these Daddy Long Legs. Lots in Southeast Alaska. I never thought the were poisonous but people say they are but their mouths are too small to bite…. I don’t know what to think about that.
Hi, yes some harvestman are called daddy long legs. Nope, not poisonous. A rumor started online about them being the most venomous spider in the World or something like that. I don’t know what that was about, they aren’t dangerous. Harvestmen (family Opiliones) don’t have venom. Unlike spiders these arachnids have the ability to chew food. Yes their mouths are tiny. 🙂 One other major type of spider called daddy long legs are cellar spiders in family Pholcidae. They aren’t remotely close to being the deadliest critters on Earth. We’ve been talking recently on this site about how many of… Read more »
Oops! Harvestmen are in the ORDER Opiliones, not family.
Hi, that myth targeted the cellar spider, also called daddy longlegs. Certainly false on both points of the myth. cellar spiders can indeed bite human skin if they so chose, I have yet to provoke a bite, Also, their venom is so mild, and fangs so small, many may not even notice a bite. These Opiliones have no fangs and simply not known to bite, even huge ones like my Herman. Their mouths have developed to scavenge on decaying leaf litter, rotting woods and organic fibers, they scavenge on dead insects, but they can opportunistically feed on small live insects… Read more »
Do you have the unfortunate knowledge of what Opilione musk tastes like?
If you have ever smelled a stink bug, those taste a bit like they smell, these are not as bad or strong as stink bugs, a different odor. Never eaten a harvestman, have inadvertently ingested a couple stink bugs, best I can say is not palatable,(awful)(yuck)needs a lot of sugar or chocolate to help. I would venture a guess, Opiliones are not as bad to the same. I have witnessed toddlers eating them,nothing like biting into a lemon. The consumption of a great many arthropods is more healthy than any threat, even black widow spiders. Just not something widely accepted… Read more »
I had a feeling you were familiar with the topic! A few bees?!
Ride motorcycles long as I have, it is bound to happen. Kept bees a while also.
4 in the mouth I know of among the numbers of unknown insects. The flies like my coffee, can’t fathom how many I swallowed. In a discussion circle, the subject of swallowing spiders while sleeping came up, and some searching yielded this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yek6wTeLw9o
As for eating spiders while sleeping, Rod Crawford explains it:
https://www.burkemuseum.org/blog/myth-you-swallow-spiders-your-sleep
Rods myth site has a lot of things you probably never knew about spiders.
I’m glad it is motorcycle-related. What brand of coffee attracts flies? My problem is black flies getting in my eyes. I’ve had awful bouts of poison ivy swelling of my face from forgetting that I touched poison ivy when I rub my eyes to get the flies out. These conversations should scare off some readers from this site! My mom is mostly deaf in one ear from a tick-bourne infection from a tick in her ear. At least spiders getting into orifices isn’t nearly as common.