![]() Based on its size, I am going to take a guess that my spider is in the cosmopolitan group and is a long-bodied cellar spider.Ĭellar spiders like human habitats, and they are beneficial to humans. People often mistake this spider for a daddy long legs, but it is not. Some species of cellar spiders are distinguished as cosmopolitan, which means that they can be found worldwide. The Arachnid class includes 11 different orders, some of which are harvestmen, aka daddy long legs, as well as mites, spiders and others. What makes a spider a spider is that it has four pairs of legs and two body parts, makes silk and venom and has piercing mouth parts.īased on scientific clues from the Field Museum, and other sources, my spider is probably a cellar spider from the Pholcidae family. “Howl’s Moving Castle,” a book that my daughter loved, includes a main character, Howl, who repeatedly reminds readers he does not believe in dusting for fear of disturbing the spiders in his castle. I love watching the spiders in my house. I’ve decided these spiders live here because it is a suitable habitat for them, so I am going to level up and embrace spider science. Spiders have fascinated me since childhood. My memories include reading "Charlotte’s Web" as a child, seeing beautiful web designs dappled with dew at sunrise, watching a jumping spider play with a moving cursor on my computer screen and seeing shimmers of silk glisten in the bright blue sky on a crisp autumn day. In this edition, Kate Caldwell, an interpretive naturalist at Plum Creek Nature Center, tells us why she loves cellar spiders. "Things We Love" explores those jaw-dropping parts of nature that one person finds particularly special. And yet for others, it's all about the scenery. ![]() One may have a soft spot for flowers, while another gravitates toward a particular animal. ![]() "Verified spider bites in Oregon (USA) with the intent to assess hobo spider venom toxicity." Toxicon 84: 51–55.About this series: While many people love nature, different people love different aspects of it. "Localized Pruritic Rash Due to Recurrent Spider Bites." J. "The Spider Genus Latrodectus (Araneae, Theridiidae)." Trans. "Effects of envenoming by comb-footed spiders of the genera Steatoda and Achaearanea (Family Theridiidae: Araneae) in Australia." J. Spiders of the Eastern United States: A Photographic Guide. "The spider genus Loxosceles in North America, Central America, and the West Indies (Araneae, Loxoscelidae)." Bul Amer Mus. The American Arachnological Society Committee on Common Names of Arachnids. The Black Widow and Five Other Venomous Spiders in the United States. These spiders are not known to bite people and are not a medically important species. The sac is held by the female in her chelicerae as she hangs inverted in her web.Īn unusual behavior is that the spiders will rapidly vibrate in a circular fashion in the web if threatened, making it difficult to see them. The eggs, which are about 1 millimeter in diameter, are deposited in clusters of twenty-five to sixty and wrapped in a thin layer of silk. ![]() It takes approximately one year for the spiders to mature and they can live for two or more years as adults. Life History/Behaviorīoth male and female spiders can be found in heated structures throughout the year. The webs are an irregular mesh of threads. The forelegs of the adult female are about 50 millimeters in length. The color of the carapace and abdomen is a pale tan or yellow with a gray mark in the center of the carapace. The eyes are arranged in two triads of larger, light-colored eyes on the top of the cephalothorax and a pair of dark, small eyes on the front. ![]() The abdomen is about three times as long as it is wide and cylindrical in shape. The females are from 7 to 8 millimeters and the males 6 millimeters in length. This spider is commonly found in cellars, warehouses, garages, caves, and other dark, quiet, protected spots. Although these spiders can develop large populations in protected locations, they are not known to be in any way harmful. It has extremely long legs and is found in many types of buildings throughout the year. The longbodied cellar spider is the most common of the Pholcidae in the United States. Pholcidae-Cellar or Daddylong-legs Spiders ![]()
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