Harvestman (often called Daddy Longlegs)
Scientific Name: Opiliones (Order)
Order & Family: Order Opiliones; families vary (e.g., Phalangiidae, Sclerosomatidae)
Size: Body length is typically 2–10 mm, but legs can span up to 160 mm depending on the species.
Natural Habitat
Found worldwide in varied habitats including forests, caves, grasslands, and gardens; common in damp environments and around human structures.
Diet & Feeding
Omnivorous and opportunistic scavengers; they eat small insects, spiders, decaying plant/animal matter, fungi, and sometimes fruit.
Behavior Patterns
Unlike spiders, they have no silk or venom glands. They are primarily nocturnal, use their long legs as sensory organs (like antennae), and may drop a leg (autotomy) to escape predators.
Risks & Benefits
They pose zero risk to humans as they lack venom and fangs to pierce skin. They are beneficial to ecosystems as decomposers and natural pest controllers that eat aphids and other small garden pests.
Identified on: 3/7/2026