University of Kentucky Entomology/Kentucky Critter Files/Kentucky Harvestmen
University of Kentucky Department of Entomology
Kentucky Harvestmen Daddy-Long-Legs
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KENTUCKY HARVESTMEN
Including Daddy-Long-Legs
Critter Files/Harvestmen
By Blake Newton
University of Kentucky, Department of Entomology

Common Kentucky Harvestmen:
 
 
TAXONOMY

KINGDOM: Animalia | PHYLUM: Arthropoda | CLASS: Arachnida | ORDER: Opiliones (harvestmen)

Other Names: daddy-long-legs, opilionids, shepherd spiders, granddaddy-long-legs, reapers

 
WHAT IS A HARVESTMAN?
LIFE CYCLE
ECOLOGY
PEST STATUS
COMMON KENTUCKY HARVESTMEN
COLLECTING & PHOTOGRAPHY
HARVESTMEN FACTS
MYTHS, LEGENDS, AND FOLKLORE
 
WHAT IS A HARVESTMEN?

Harvestmen are members of the class Arachnida, which also includes spiders, scorpions, and mites.  Like all arachnids, harvestmen have 4 pairs of legs, fang-like mouthparts called "chelicerae," and 2 antennae-like appendages near the mouth called "pedipalps."  They have no antennae.  Most Kentucky harvestmen have very long legs, and these species are usually called "daddy-long-legs."  Some harvestmen have short legs and look very similar to mites, but these species are rarely seen in Kentucky.  

Harvestmen are often confused with spiders, but harvestmen are not true spiders.  Spiders have 2 body segments (cephalothorax and abdomen) that are distinct and separated.  On harvestmen the 2 body segments appear fused into a single large body segment (as with mites and ticks).  Also, spiders have venomous fangs, whereas the fangs of harvestmen have no venom glands.

SIZE: Body length up to about 1/4" for Kentucky harvestmen
 
LIFE CYCLE

Like all arachnids, harvestmen have incomplete metamorphosis.  This means that young harvestmen hatch from eggs and look like tiny versions of the adults. They molt (shed their skin) as they grow larger.  Most harvestmen in Kentucky live for about a year.  Females lay eggs by the hundreds in moist soil.

 
ECOLOGY

The biology and ecology of harvestmen is poorly known.  Most harvestmen species are found in moist, shady environments.  Some harvestmen live deep in caves, while others are found in basements or in the deep shade of woods or plant growth.  Regardless of where they live, they are usually active in darkness or in the shade.  Some harvestmen search methodically over the ground and on plants for slow-moving or dead insects, insect eggs, earthworms, and decaying plant material.  Harvestmen are often seen sitting motionless on the upper sides of leaves, like the one shown below, perhaps waiting in ambush for soft-bodied insect prey.

Harvestman
Harvestman on leaves (B. Newton 2003)

Although they resemble spiders, harvestmen do not have venomous fangs or silk glands.  Some species, however, have glands on the sides of their bodies that can secrete bad-tasting and bad-smelling defensive chemicals which help protect them from predators.  Harvestmen are sometimes eaten by birds, large spiders, and predatory insects like assassin bugs.

HARVESTMEN ECOLOGY: Parasitic Mites

 

Harvestmen are often found with bright red mites attached to their bodies.  These mites are the immature stages of species belonging to the family Erythraeidae.  They are believed to be parasitic.  Among many mite species, the immature stages are parasitic while the adults are predatory.  A "parasitic" organism is one that attaches itself to and feeds on a host, like a tick on a human.

Harvestman with mites
Harvestman with mites
(B. Newton 2003)
harvestmen leg with mite
Mites on harvestman leg
(B. Newton 2003)
Mites are common parasites on all kinds of arthropods, including many insect and spider species.  Click here to read a brief summary of a scientific study concerning mites and daddy-long-legs.  
 
PEST STATUS
Harvestmen are sometimes a nuisance around buildings where they congregate by the dozens, but they are not harmful to humans, animals, buildings, or crops.
 
COMMON KENTUCKY HARVESTMEN

DADDY-LONG-LEGS: Leiobunum genus
FAMILY: Leiobunidae | Genus: Leiobunum

As mentioned above, long-legged harvestmen species are usually called "Daddy-Long-Legs."  Many of the daddy-long-legs encountered in Kentucky are in the genus Leiobunum.  Leiobunum daddy-long-legs are almost always present around trees, shrubs, or any thick vegetation in Kentucky during warm months.  They are also common around buildings, especially barns, sheds, and similar structures.  Pictured below are two common Leiobunum species.  The one on the left is probably Leiobunum vittatum, a species that occurs over much of the eastern United States.
 
Leiobunum sp. daddy-long-legs
Daddy-long-legs, Leiobunum sp. (R. Bessin 2000)
Leiobunum sp. daddy-long-legs
Daddy-long-legs, Leiobunum sp. (R. Bessin 2000)
 
COLLECTING & PHOTOGRAPHY

During warm months, harvestmen are extremely common on the shady sides of buildings, underneath eaves, in crawl spaces, and on trees, and they are found in both rural and urban environments.  Harvestmen can be easily collected by hand, but take care not to break off any legs.  Harvestmen will usually stay still for a photo as long as you don't touch them.  These creatures have soft bodies, and should be preserved in alcohol.

 
HARVESTMEN FACTS

The legs of harvestmen fall off easily and continue to twitch for some time after removal.  It is believed that this helps the daddy-long-legs escape predators (as when a lizard's tail breaks off).

 
MYTHS - LEGENDS - FOLKLORE

You may have heard that "daddy-long-legs are the most poisonous spiders in the world, but their fangs are too small to bite humans."  This is a widespread myth.  It has even been presented as a fact on televised nature programs.  Daddy-long-legs are not actually spiders, and they do not have venom glands.  For details about this myth, take a look at this webpage from the University of California Entomology Department.

In the old days, it was believed that you could use daddy-long-legs to find your lost cattle.  When you wanted to know which direction the herd had wandered to, you could pick up a daddy-long-legs by all of the legs but one, and the free leg would point in the direction of the cattle (or so it was believed).

Another myth from the old days: if you kill a daddy-long-legs, it will rain the next day.

 

Original document: 25 May 2004
Last updated: 19 Oct 2006

The Kentucky Critter Files are maintained by Blake Newton, Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky.
Contact: blaken@uky.edu

   
University of Kentucky Entomology/Kentucky Critter Files/Kentucky Harvestmen