|
|
Harvestman from Brazil
(04/30/2008) what in the???
Yikes! My boyfriend's friend lives in Brazil and found this
walking around his apartment. I love the tropics, but I am
glad I don't have spiders like this just "drop by"
unannounced.
Lisa Hemesath
Portland, OR
Hi Lisa,
This is a harmless Harvestman in the order Opiliones. In the
U.S. Harvestmen are known as Daddy-Long-Legs.
Harvestman carrying Mites
(04/24/2008) Spider in Anza-Borago Desert
On a recent visit to the Anza-Borago Desert in the late afternoon,
many spiders like the one in the attached photo came out of
hiding and were crawling around on the ground. The spider had
long legs with white dots on them and an orange body with
a black area on its back. Sorry the photo is not better.
All I had was my little digital camera and these spiders moved
fast! Thanks for the help.
Nancy in Minnesota
Hi Nancy,
This is not a spider. It is a Harvestman in the order Opiliones,
commonly called Daddy-Long-Legs. It appears your Harvestman
is transporting Mites, which use the Harvestman to move from
location to location and hopefully, a food source. We are
not sure of either the species of Harvestman, or the Mites.
We do not want to rule out the possibility that the Harvestman
is a female transporting her young. this is a behavior shared
by certain other Arachnids, including Wolf Spiders, Scorpions,
and Whip Scorpions. We will check with Eric Eaton, but he
will probably not respond until Monday.
Update: (04/28/2008)
Daniel:
Yes, those are mites (probably phoretic and not parasitic)
on the harvestman.
Eric
Crab Clawed Harvestman
(04/14/2008) spider help?
Hello,
I'm hoping you can help me idenfity this spider. I have
seen many of them outside my home, thankfully none have made
it inside. It's probably about 2 inches at longest leg
to leg and has what looks like fangs. Are they dangerous?
I am panicked about black widows and brown recluse. I
live in eastern San Diego county where it gets quite warm.
Thanks!
Audrey
Hi Audrey,
This is a Crab Clawed Harvestman in the family Sabaconidae,
and probably the genus Taracus. We located it on BugGuide.
Harvestmen are also called Daddy Long Legs and they are harmless.
Harvestman from the Falkland Islands
(03/17/2008) Spider?
I found this in my garden, I live in the Falkland Islands,
South Atlantic and these have not been seen before. There
was 2 of them under a piece of wood (dry) which was at the
bottom of a pile. The rear is the two hairy looking legs.
It is dark and reddish brown in color. The body is about the
size of a dime, 4 front legs. No wings. The other one was
quite a bit smaller. Thanks for your help,
Pauline
Hi Pauline,
This is a Harvestman in the order Opiliones. We recently got
an email from someone more familiar with this order, and we
will contact Rod Crawford to see if he can confirm or deny
or provide any additional information.
There are only 2 harvestmen recorded from the Falkland Islands:
Haversia defensa (Butler) and Hoggellula vallentini (Hogg)
both in the family Gonyleptidae. Your photo does indeed look
like a gonyleptid but is not high-res enough to have any diagnostic
features. I have on hand a drawing of H. defensa showing the
hind legs less stout than in the photo, so by elimination
it might be considered to be H. vallentini (of which I can
find no illustration without making a special trip to the
library) - but I don't really stand by the accuracy of ID
by elimination! from your friendly neighborhood harvestmanman,
Rod Crawford, Burke Museum, Seattle, USA
Harvestman
(03/17/2008) A really charming Mystery "Bug"
Hello!
A care package of spiffy treats!!! (organic jams, delightful
whole leaf teas, etc.)... ...to whoever can relieve me of
my obsessive and unsuccessful search for the identification
of the delightful leggity being I photographed on a piece
of Doug-fir firewood last spring. Attached. I named the photos
"red spider boyee" as a mnemonic, not sure it is
a spider. Is it a whipscorpion? Reminds me of the general
vinegaroon body plan...and has that delightful flat lapstrake
butt. It was under the tarp, dazed by the early morning light,
and very shy. Nocturnal behavior. Also it was on the woodpile
on our patio, which is frequently accessed. So must have come
in the night. I took the photo then covered it back up. The
growth rings on this Doug-fir chunk are maybe 2 mm each (red
and yellow, each) so we're talking about an overall bodylength
of not much more than a centimeter. CUTE. I looked and looked
and looked, normally able to find anything on the World Wide
Web. But no luck. ... I am writing from just outside Olympia,
WA, in the rapidly suburbanizing wooded hinterlands of Pugetopolis.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.
Michele Gale-Sinex
Olympia, WA
Hi Michelle,
This is a Harvestman in the order Opiliones, which contains
the Daddy Long Legs. This particular Harvestman is in the
suborder Laniatores. There are several photos on BugGuide
from Oregon, but none from Washington. Using their raptorial
pedipalps, Laniatores prey on small invertebrates. Are you
really sending us a care package???
Update: Michelle received this more thorough
reply shortly after our response
Dear Michele,
Your specimen is definitely a harvestman (arachnid order Phalangida
or Opiliones) of the suborder Laniatores. It is a fine example
of why arachnologists never use the term "daddy-longlegs"!
The most likely species for you to have there is Sclerobunus
nondimorphicus of the family Triaenonychidae. However, there
is a remote chance of finding one of the old-growth obligate
species of the genus Pentanychus or Isolachus (Pentanychidae).
All these species look pretty much the same in top view, and
in fact, dissection is needed for definitive ID. Harvestmen
are chiefly predatory but can scavenge as well. Unlike pseudoscorpions
they do not have the chelate, scorpion-like pedipalps. They
have no silk or venom. In this particular group of harvestmen
the palps are spiny. The two centrally located eyes are another
thing that might tell you that it's a harvestman, as well
as the subsegmented leg tarsi. I'm amazed to find very little
Sclerobunus info on the internet. However, Wikipedia has a
bare bones illustrated article on S.robustus (which does not
occur in western Wash.). S. nondimorphicus is so common here
I have over 120 vials of them in my collection. The very small
amount of published info on this species is in this paper:
http://www.archive.org/stream/occasionalpapers90cali/occasionalpapers90cali_djvu.txt
PS. I'd welcome any caffeinated tea. Don't use much jam. :-)
Rod Crawford, Burke Museum, Seattle, USA
Dear Daniel--
I'm so excited!! I have a photo and letter published on WTB!
This is better than the times my ex got two letters published
in the Archie McPhee catalog, or when my husband showed the
Dalai Lama his 3D tattoo! Opiliones! We LOVE those guys. I
can see it now with your identification. The two eyes on top--duh.
Rod Crawford at the Burke Museum (U. of WA Seattle), and Pugeopolis's
spider expert, also replied ... You put in a lot of work on
this site, I've read What's That Bug? for years, it is one
of my favorite-ever Web sites. If I had to give up all Web
sites but one, I'd cry while surrendering /The Onion/...but
I'd do it, for What's That Bug? ... But we still have a universe
to learn about bugs. You do more for the evolution of the
human spirit and mind than most churches. Wait, that's not
saying much. OK, never mind the comparison. You encourage
people to evolve compassion and connection. You encourage
respect and appreciation for our ancestors and neighbors.
I love the site's vilification of savagery against arthropods,
and its the tone of affection and respect for these creatures,
and affirmation of their beauty and importance. I love the
way you lay it on the line around the stupidity of killing
beneficial insects, and our need to face our silly fears and
grow past them. I love the way you encourage the heretical
belief, based on empirical evidence, that Nature Bats Last.
So of COURSE you get a care package. So--where are you? Strawberry,
raspberry, apricot, citrus marmalade, or mixed berry? For
tea--green? oolong? black? pu-erh? Need steeping instructions?
How many of you ARE there? Iowa's a big state. I know that,
because we're expatriate Cheezers. Peace
Michele
Ed. Note: We replied to this
wonderful letter offline, but for the record, the offices
of What's That Bug? are in Los Angeles.
Harvestman from Baja
(03/12/2008) Bug identification
I was on a trip in Baja, and there were hundreds of these
on the ground. I am a leader in an outdoor program and I would
like to know what exactly these are for future reference.
The attached picture shows a medium sized one (about an inch
and a half long, excluding the longest leg). This particular
one is missing a leg; there is normally one long leg on both
sides. They did appear to have fangs, so at first glance they
looked like spiders. However, they had no web, and were in
large groups, so I’m not sure what exactly they are.
Thanks!
Jason Payne
Hi Jason,
Your creature is known as a Harvestman in the order Opiliones.
Harvestmen are sometimes called Daddy Long Legs and they are
relatives of spiders that are scavengers.
Chilean
Harvestman
(02/02/2008) strange spider from Chile
Hi,
I found this strange animal in the temperate rainforest of
southern Chile near the city of Valdivia. Thank you very much
for helping to identify this interesting creature.
Gerhard Huedepohl
Hi Gerhard,
This is not a spider, but a relative known as a Harvestman
in the order Opiliones. Two years ago this month, we received
a another quite similar image, also from Chile, and Eric Eaton
provided this information: " The Chilean "spider" is actually
a tropical harvestman (order Opilones), possibly in the suborder
Laniatores, and, even more remotely plausible, in the family
Gonyleptidae. I got all this from my old Golden Guide to "Spiders
and Their Kin" by Levi and Zim:-) Eric" Many Opiliones are
known as Daddy Long Legs and they do not posess venom, hence
they are harmless.
Hong
Kong Mystery found in a Pet Shop: Some species of Harvestman
(12/15/2007) Unknown Pet
Dear Sirs,
I have just acquired my new pet in the attached pictures,
please advise what are they and what they eat. Thanks a lot.
With regards,
Alexander
Hi Alexander,
Please provide more details. did you buy it? Did you catch
it? Where was it found?
(12/19/2007) Unknown Pet
Hi Daniel,
I'm from Hong Kong and I bought these guys from a local pet
shop and the actual thing is he's on the way on studying these
guys and before he came into some answer, I took a pair from
him and study them also. If you have any nice advise, then
that's great. Thanks a lot. With regards,
Alexander
Hi again Alexander,
Thanks for the additional informatin. We are totally mystified.
Our best guess, and this is just a guess, is one of th Opiliones
or Harvestmen. We will post your images in the hopes that
someone can give us an answer and provide us with links to
information online.
Confirmation: Eric Eaton confirms suspicion
Daniel:
It is some kind of tropical harvestman (daddy-longlegs), probably
in an entire 'order' that isn't found in North America.
Eric
Harvestmen are scavengers that feed on a wide variety
of organic matter.
Harvestman: Suborder Laniatores
(03/22/2007) Legged Big Fanged Black Bottom
Bugman,
I live just north of Sacramento, California (USA) and I found
this spider under a raised, wooden flower bed on my front
porch. I was hoping you could tell me what kind of spider
it is and whether those massive fangs could do me any harm.
Thank You,
Jessica
 
Hi Jessica,
We are nearly positive this is a Harvestman in the Suborder
Laniatores. Harvestmen are also commonly called Daddy Long
Legs and they do not have venom. Your photos are totally awesome.
We suspect if we are correct, Eric Eaton might ask permission
to post this beauty on BugGuide
as well.
Daddy
Long Legs Aggregation
(08/20/2006) Harvestmen / Daddy Long Legs
Donation to your site if you'd like. Was on the outside of
our shed in mid-western Illinois.
That is quite an impressive crowd of Harvestmen you have
there.
Chilean
Harvestman
(02/22/2006) chilean spider (?)
Hi Bug Folk,
My girlfriend and I were recently in Chile and saw a number
of these spider-like creatures near where we were staying.
They only came out at night and moved rather slowly...quite
and interesting creature. Anyhow, if you know what it may
be, let me know. Thanks for all your buggy wisdom!
Aaron Hilst
Hi Aaron,
Well, it has 8 legs and no antennae, so that implies spider,
but we have never seen anything like it before. We will post
the image and perhaps eventually get an answer. Eric Eaton
wrote in with this identification: " The Chilean "spider"
is actually a tropical harvestman (order Opilones), possibly
in the suborder Laniatores, and, even more remotely plausible,
in the family Gonyleptidae. I got all this from my old Golden
Guide to "Spiders and Their Kin" by Levi and Zim:-) Eric"
Daddy Long Legs
(09/02/2005)
>Found this outside my house yesterday near my trash cans.
It is fairly large
(inch+) and did not appear to have a web. I looked around
the internet and was unable to find anything that had the
same kind of odd front legs and body shape. I'm sure its nothing
special, but my curiosity got the better of me. I live in
Fairfield, California by the way. Any idea?
Chad Harden
Hi Chad,
Daddy Long Legs or Harvestmen are harmless relatives of spiders
in the Order Opiliones.
Long-Legged
Love
(08/02/2005) more bug love?
Hi Daniel,
These harvestmen aka daddy longlegs were on an oak tree I
baited for moths. When I went to check it after it got dark,
I found these two engaged in what I'm assumming is mating.
This was photographed in Pike County, Georgia on 7/30/05.
Bill DuPree
Atlanta, GA
Hi Bill,
We can always count on your for something interesting. Looks
like the Harvestmen (and Harvestwomen) have some foreplay
attached to their procreative processes. Thanks for the image.
Harvestmen
(02/07/2005) Daddy long legs
I have seen several references to the bug known as "daddy
longlegs" and most of them say that this is not a spider,
but a true bug.
The bugguide has them under arachnids and I just wanted to
clear this up. My daughter is trying to identify bugs
in her collection.
Thanks,
jeff
Hi Jeff,
What an awesome photo or Daddy Long-Legs or Harvestmen from
the Order Opiliones. They are arachnids, and related to spiders,
but are not true spiders. They have no fangs and do not bite.
They use crushing mouthparts to feed primarily on the carcasses
of invertebrates that have recently died. |
|
