Subject: Unknown Harvestmen
Geographic location of the bug: South Mississippi
Date: 05/25/2018
Time: 02:57 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hi bugman,
I’m an environmental biology student from Mississippi who loves all things nature. As a hobby I collect salvaged insects that die of natural causes, because I hate the thought of killing anything. I was looking around in my garage when I discovered what I believe to be some sort of harvestmen entangled in a cobweb. At first glance I thought it may just be the cephalothorax of a spider, but upon closer inspection there are no broken off attachment points where an additional abdomen would have been located. It was very decicated when I found it, so several legs fell off upon retrieving it. I’ve done my best to glue them back on in the correct position. It is a rusty orange color with a defined “Y” behind its eyes in a cream color. It’s hindmost legs are attatched directly to the rear of its abdomen. It’s chelicerae also appear to have an underdeveloped claw like appearance. It does not possess “fangs” as a spider would though. I’ve never seen anything like this and it would be a huge help if you could help me identify it!
How you want your letter signed: Jaden Hendrix
Hi Jaden,
We believe we have identified this Harvestman as a member of the genus Vonones thanks to these BugGuide images.
A friend of mine used to be the California state virologist. Besides coordinating research on pant pathogens, he was responsible for maintaining the state’s collection of arthropod specimens. Jaden’s post reminded me of my visit to the place. One of the cabinets in the repository was dedicated to harvestman. Looking through all those trays of pinned harvestmen you couldn’t help but wonder at the sheer amount of work it must have taken to somehow kelp all those fragile legs from falling off. Now there’s a job that could drive you nuts!