the.com/daddy longlegs
the spindly ghost of the basement, more leg than spider and not even venomous enough to scare you
means A common name for several long-limbed creatures — cellar spiders, harvestmen, or crane flies — all united by impossibly thin legs and an utter lack of menace.
from A folksy English compound: 'daddy' as an old affectionate term for a small old man, plus the obvious 'long legs' — the same playful naming impulse behind 'granddaddy.' The term has been applied loosely since at least the 18th century to spindly-legged creatures, which is why three quite different animals all answer to it. The persistent myth that they're 'the most venomous spider but can't bite you' is pure folklore — harvestmen aren't even spiders and have no venom at all.
- not spiders
- Harvestmen are a separate arachnid order entirely
- one body
- Fused head and abdomen, no waist between
- venom myth
- No venom glands and no fangs at all
- leg loss
- Drop legs to escape, never regrow them
- ancient
- Fossils date back over 400 million years
opiliones — order of arachnids with over 6,500 species, longest-legged relative to body size
pholcidae — cellar spider family often called daddy longlegs, found in homes worldwide
crane flies — dipteran insects commonly mistaken for daddy longlegs due to long spindly legs