Common Harvestman
The common harvestman (Phalangium opilio) is a long-legged arachnid found on every continent but Antarctica. Harvestmen are often mistaken for spiders but belong to a separate order, Opiliones.
The common harvestman (Phalangium opilio) is a long-legged arachnid found on every continent but Antarctica. Harvestmen are often mistaken for spiders but belong to a separate order, Opiliones.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Common Harvestman in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Ecdysozoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Not a Spider: How Can You Tell?
In a spider the body is divided into two parts joined by a narrow waist, but in a harvestman the head and abdomen merge into a single oval body. They have no silk glands, no venom and a single pair of eyes mounted on a small turret.
Daddy Longlegs Confusion
The name "daddy longlegs" is applied to harvestmen, to cellar spiders (Pholcidae) and to crane flies. The claim that daddy longlegs are the most venomous spiders but cannot bite is a myth; harvestmen are not venomous.
Scavengers and Escapes
Harvestmen feed on small insects, plant matter and carrion, and the second pair of legs acts like antennae. When grabbed, they can shed a leg, which twitches to distract predators.
Common Harvestman at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Phalangium opilio |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Chelicerata |
| Class | Arachnida |
| Order | Opiliones |
| Field Guide group | Ecdysozoa: Arachnida (Spiders, Scorpions & Allies) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Compact fused oval body lacking a pedicel waist, defensive scent ozopores, and extraordinarily long threadlike stilt legs. |
| Order | Opiliones |
| Venom or silk | None |
See Also
- Black Widow Spider — a true spider
- Natural selection — defense by autotomy