Cellar Spider (often called Daddy Longlegs)
Scientific Name: Pholcidae (Family)
Order & Family: Araneae (Order), Pholcidae (Family)
Size: Body length 2-10 mm; leg span up to 50 mm.
Natural Habitat
Typically found in dark, damp areas such as basements, cellars, garages, and caves, as well as corners of ceilings in homes.
Diet & Feeding
Carnivorous; feeds on insects, other spiders, and small invertebrates trapped in their webs.
Behavior Patterns
Known for shaking their webs violently when disturbed to become invisible to predators. They build messy, irregular webs.
Risks & Benefits
Benefits: Effective pest control as they eat other nuisance insects. Risks: Harmless to humans; while they possess venom, their fangs are too small to penetrate human skin effectively in most cases, or their venom is too weak to cause harm.
Identified on: 2/10/2026