Friday, September 19, 2008

Brown Daddy-long-legs



Phalangium opilio

Photo: Tree 908


"Description: 1/8-1/4" (4-6 mm). Long thin legs. Body reddish brown. Legs dark with prominent paler coxae. Eyes on black turret; 1 eye to right, 1 to left.

Habitat: Fields on tree trunks and open ground.

Range: Throughout North America.

Food: Small insects and decaying organic matter.

Life Cycle: Female thrust ovipositor into soil to deposit eggs. When warm weather arrives, young creep out and grow slowly. Normally they mature in summer, then mate without courtship. 1 generation a year.


On cool afternoons adults often climb trees or side of buildings, seemingly to benefit from residual heat of the sun. A warm knothole may attract dozens of daddy-long-legs, which stand close together with legs interlaced all night."


The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders. Milne and Milne

As children we loved Daddylonglegs. They do not bite.-Tree

1 comment:

Wood Mouse said...

I must say that you have great eyesight to be able to distinguish the gender, to me half of them looked like mummy long legs.