YOU’RE dusting your home of dust and cobwebs and scurrying off to a corner you catch a glimpse of a tiny-bodied, long-legged creature, almost invisible but terrifying.
It has been passed down through generations that daddy longlegs spiders are actually the most venomous arachnids in existence but in a cruel twist of fate, their jaws or fangs are not long or strong enough to cause harm to humans.
Is it true that a stronger bite is all that prevents this spider from wreaking havoc on humans and dropping bodies?
Verdict:
FALSE
It is worth clarifying that the name "daddy longlegs" is an informal term to describe many different types of long-legged creatures, including several non-spider critters such as the crane fly.
For the little arachnid we are talking about, the harvestmen, claims it is the most venomous spider species is a myth.
Harvestmen are arachnids but they are not true spiders! Firstly, they lack venom, which all spiders have.
They also don't have silk glands like spiders do and only have two eyes, compared with the eight eyes most spiders have.
In addition, harvestmen only have one body part, while spiders have two.
They generally eat decomposing plants and animals, killing small prey when the opportunity presents itself.
There is another arachnid called the cellar spider or daddy longlegs spider (Pholcidae), which is often confused with harvestmen.
These spiders also have small fangs and are not known to bite humans unless provoked – and even if they do, it is usually harmless and results in mild irritation at most.
So in summary, both daddy longlegs mentioned are not dangerous, much less the most venomous of spiders.
That title is often associated with spiders like the funnel web spider or the Brazilian wandering spider, which can indeed deliver venomous bites that may be lethal to humans.
References:
1. https://www.discovery.com/
4. Photo by Luis Fernandez Garcia - (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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