Cellar Spider (Daddy Long Legs)
Scientific Name: Pholcus phalangioides
Order & Family: Order: Araneae, Family: Pholcidae
Size: Body length typically 7-8 mm (approx. 0.28-0.31 inches), but their legs can span up to 50-70 mm (approx. 2-2.75 inches), giving them a much larger appearance. Females tend to be slightly larger than males.
Natural Habitat
Commonly found in cool, damp, and dark environments such as cellars, basements, crawl spaces, garages, and sheds. They also frequent undisturbed corners of homes.
Diet & Feeding
Mainly feeds on other small insects, including mosquitoes, flies, and even other spiders. They are beneficial predators.
Behavior Patterns
Cellar spiders are known for their messy, irregular webs, often built in corners of rooms or ceilings. They are not aggressive and tend to vibrate rapidly in their web when disturbed, making them difficult to see. They can live several years.
Risks & Benefits
Generally considered harmless to humans. Their fangs are too small to penetrate human skin easily, and their venom (if delivered) is not dangerous to people. They are beneficial as they prey on common household pests like mosquitoes, flies, and other spiders, including potentially more dangerous ones like black widows, which they are known to cannibalize.
Identified on: 8/14/2025