See the Daddy LongLegs! Pics... Is it friend or foe?

14 years ago

Well, yesterday it was on my tomato plant and today it's visiting my zucchini plant. A nice chocolately-brown fellow with long long wispy legs

I'm pretty sure it's the same critter as {{gwi:53545}}. I assume they do no harm to plants but am not sure. Anybody know?

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Comments (10)

digdirt2
14 years ago
They are good guys. ;) They love to eat aphids and scale.

Dave
ediej1209 AL Zn 7
14 years ago
If you have these in your garden, PLEASE do not a.) kill them or b.) use bug spray/dust in the garden (I know, a lot of you out there don't, but for the ones that do... .) If you are lucky, this guy will invite all his relatives and friends to come visit, too!
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anney
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks to both of you! I've never heard anybody complain about a plague of Daddy LongLeg pests or anyone trying to kill them but I thought I'd check, since it, or it and at least one relative, apparently like the plants on my back deck. I'm glad they're watching over them.

I did learn something about them today I'd never heard before. (I haven't heard much about them, to be honest.) They moult every ten days! Like a snake! The husks can sometimes be found, and in fact, I saw one of them on another plant. Not only does the top show a slit where the larger insect has emerged, but every single leg shows a slit, too! Every one of those feathery legs moults separately! Boy, would I like to see that!
herb_mania
14 years ago
Great photography annie!
anney
Original Author
14 years ago
herb_mania

Thank you. Gotta give my little camera the credit, though. I just put it in the close-up mode, moved in close and tried to get Mr. DLL in the center, and snapped. Those legs are awfully long, aren't they?

And I also discovered that there are TWO insects given the name, Daddy Long Legs. When people popularly differentiate them, one is called the Daddy Long Legs Sspider, and the other one called the Harvestman. This picture is listed as a {{gwi:53546}}, but it has a relatively long jointed body. This one is called a Harvestman, and doesn't have a segmented body but is roly-poly. It looks more like that's the one I photographed on my zucchini.

They both have long delicate-looking legs. so that must be the reason they carry the same name.
sunnibel7 Md 7
14 years ago
I love Daddy Long Legs! But it is funny about the names. Growing up we always called the one you've found labled "Harvestman" DLL. The other one with the segmented body we always called Cellar Spiders... I don't think I'll be switching to Harvestman, it makes me think of a little Grim Reaper working his way through the garden! Even though that may indeed be what they are doing.

Have you ever come across a wolf spider carrying her eggcase along? I like them too. And jumping spiders... and the big garden spiders... Anyhow, great pictures! Thanks for sharing!

Sunni
anney
Original Author
14 years ago
Sunni

Jumping spiders are adorable! I have a summer place that is not entirely insect-proof, and one summer I had a jumping spider that hung out in the vicinity of my computer monitor. It would sit quietly and, I think, watch me with those eight tiny shiny eyes. Then it would explore a little, hopping from one level of the desk to another with a soft clicking sound. I have always wondered what their brains see with all those eyes!

I don't know wolf spiders but the big garden ones, yes. The big ones that have the white zig-zags in their webs. I've learned to watch for spiderwebs strung between rows. Nothing is spookier than walking into one and dancing a jig to try to rid oneself of it and wondering if the spider came with the web!
ediej1209 AL Zn 7
14 years ago
We have another kind that we call "Daddy Long Legs" here, too. The body is a deep red, perfectly round, and the legs are just a little thicker, and black. I'd never heard the term "Harvestman Spider" before, so this weekend, I've learned something new, too!!
cassieinmass
14 years ago
I love wolf spiders!!!!! I found a whole nest of babies that hatched that ive been watching for a couple of days! Daddy long legs are my fav's too!!!!
sunnibel7 Md 7
14 years ago
:) It's good to meet other people who appreciate our little many-legged friends! To me, the miracle is always that these little alien beings are ALIVE... just like I am! I mean, I don't get gushy over slugs and earwigs, but I do think that they are pretty amazing too! I definitely prefer helpful guys like spiders, though. :) A lot of them are downright pretty, too. I saw a ladybug today that looked like a little gem, she was so red!

Oh, and I've totally done the ol' Spiderweb Jig myself...

Cheers!

Sunni