Harvestman (also known as Daddy Longlegs)
Scientific Name: Opiliones (Order)
Order & Family: Order Opiliones, Family Phalangiidae (common identification)
Size: Body length is typically 2–10 mm (0.08–0.4 in), with legs extending significantly further.
Natural Habitat
Found in a variety of environments including forests, gardens, caves, and human dwellings; they prefer moist, dark areas under leaves or logs.
Diet & Feeding
Omnivorous scavengers; they eat small insects, spiders, aphids, dead animal matter, decaying plant material, and fungi.
Behavior Patterns
They are nocturnal and non-web-spinning arachnids. They use their second pair of legs as sensory organs (feelers). When threatened, they may shed a leg (autotomy) or release a foul-smelling chemical.
Risks & Benefits
Benefits: They are beneficial to gardens and ecosystems as they act as natural pest controllers by eating aphids and small insects. Risks: They are harmless to humans; they lack venom glands and silk glands, so they cannot bite or spin webs.
Identified on: 4/7/2026