16 Nebraskaland • July 2019
PHOTO
BY
CHRIS
HELZER
MYTHS AND REALITIES OF HARVESTMEN,
AKA DADDY-LONGLEGS
Daddy-longlegs, or harvestmen, are commonly seen across
Nebraska in houses and yards, as well as in grasslands and
woodlands. Although they are arachnids, harvestmen are not
spiders. They're part of a group of creatures called opiliones.
They do have eight legs, but only two eyes, as opposed to the
six or eight eyes most spiders have. Harvestmen also differ
from spiders in that they are unable to produce silk.
There is a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding
about harvestmen and daddy-longlegs. Some stems from
the fact that the name daddy-longlegs is often (incorrectly)
applied to various kinds of spiders, especially a diverse group
called cellar spiders, which also have very long legs. Some
cellar spiders look somewhat like brown recluse spiders
which can have a dangerous bite. As a result, because both
harvestmen and cellar spiders are called daddy-longlegs,
both are often wrongly labeled as dangerous. They're not.
A more specific myth about harvestmen is that they are
among the world's most venomous spiders but just don't
have long enough fangs to puncture human skin. It makes
a titillating story, but it isn't at all true. In fact, harvestmen
don't even have fangs, let alone venom, so the story falls
apart pretty quickly.
Speaking of falling apart, while they are harmless,
harvestmen do have a somewhat disturbing habit of breaking
off their legs as a way to escape predation. It might be a
good strategy, but it can be a little creepy to someone just
picking a harvestman up to examine it or move it out of the
house. The strategy also seems counterproductive because
harvestmen's legs contain thousands of tiny sensory organs
that help it navigate and understand the world around it. In
particular, the second set of legs is used more as antennae
than legs, something you can observe yourself if you manage
to find one that still has all its legs intact.
With or without a full set of legs, however, harvestmen are
innocuous fellow inhabitants of the earth. You might think
they're cute, you might think they're creepy, but they won't
kill you in your sleep, so that's something to be happy about.
By Chris Helzer
IN THE FIELD
