Daddy longlegs get a pretty bad rap someone started a rumor for some reason that of all the spiders in the world the daddy longlegs are the most venomous of all the 45 000 species of spiders daddy longlegs were at the top of the charts as the most potentially dangerous gifted with the most threatening venom towards humans they acquired quite the.

Reputation but unfortunately their fangs also were too small to penetrate skin so their amazing capabilities were deemed useless imagine having a superpower without the ability to use it this fact might have come from someone's friend of a friend a long time ago and unfortunately for old bouncy legs the.

Fact stuck the daddy longlegs spider is recognized throughout the world but its actual name is falsidae which is part of the iraniomorph family the falsidae consists of up to 1800 individual species all ranging in different sizes and variations most having the distinct similar long bouncy legs with a small.

Body they are present on every continent of the world except antarctica but regardless of which part of the planet they're from they all share that same supposed reputation of impressive venom with no teeth to use it the origin story of how their venom was.

Recognized as so strong was that they were notorious all over the world for being able to remove other more dangerous spiders any spider that was known to be threatening towards humans competed for territory with the daddy longlegs and lost they defeated redbacks and black widows.

Even larger spiders like huntsman every competitor was beaten and for that reason this ridiculous spider became the undisputed world champion from the northern hemisphere to the south from australia to north america in africa asia and all around europe the daddy longlegs took on all challengers removing venomous spiders.

From households all over the world as its reputation grew it was portrayed that it must have the strongest venom as no contender could match it and there the legend rested actual facts were neglected like cobwebs in the wind but in fact their venom is incredibly weak so weak that it's not even very useful it has little effect on the more.

Venomous spiders and is only useful towards smaller insect prey but it does have a different more impressive way of defeating all challengers in the spider world rather than bouncing over and trying to wrestle a foe awkwardly the daddy longlegs casts its silk web onto its contenders from a distance whilst keeping itself away from.

Harm then once it's safe it ties them up until they're completely incapacitated what's more their own silk doesn't have any adhesive properties so when they come for another spider they usually roll it in its own sticky web they're basically the cowboys of the.

Spider world coolly lassoing all dangers of the household removing hazardous spiders and all other pesky insects and for their selfless assistance the only gratitude we've provided are urban legends about their supposed inadequacies and a quick removal with a vacuum cleaner it's a shame to remove the daddy long.

Legs from a house as they are passive towards humans they reside in dark and cool places where moisture is more prominent like a bathroom or a basement since they're predators they will only live where there is a constant source of food so if you see them in your house then that's a good indication that you have a lot more types of bugs living in.

Other more inconspicuous locations understanding that there are more bugs under your hard to reach places removing the daddy long legs is effectively removing a bug remover who not only works for free but is a much more efficient hunter of bugs than your vacuum cleaner they will not only remove the resident.

Bugs but all the hundreds of eggs that are hidden away incubating preparing to hatch in the near future perhaps the thought of them being a hunter may give you some apprehension of keeping them around especially as you sleep further with the myth that a human inhales up to 10 spiders per year on average while sleeping.

Since they don't mean humans any harm there's no need to worry especially given the difference in size predators generally won't attack anything they can't successfully take down which won't be anything much larger than themselves given humans are over a million times bigger in size we just aren't worth the.

Risk for any spider even if we're sleeping the myth that we eat spiders in our sleep is false there is nothing for a spider to hunt for around a human a giant meaty growling mountain is the last place to find a spider trying to find its dinner but if you do have a bad case of.

Arachnophobia and are brave enough simply get an empty jar and a piece of paper carefully place the daddy long legs in the jar and release it into the backyard they're more than happy to live in the bark of trees or under rocks protecting your garden from other insects there are three types of daddy longlegs the spider variety the crane.

Fly one and the appelionis which are more related to scorpions than spiders the epileones have helped provide confusion with their spider counterpart sharing similar features residing in the same parts of the world and even known for the same misinformation in particular for the urban legend of being the most venomous.

Not only do these not have any venom glands but they don't even have fangs just grasping claws due to these physical traits they are restricted to prey on small insects though their diet partially contains bugs they are omnivorous also feeding upon plant material and fungi so the appelionis are mainly found.

Outdoors unless you happen to be growing mushrooms in your basement their primary defenses are to avoid detection camouflaging themselves in foliage whilst holding very still and sometimes placing debris on top of themselves some species will have bright coloring to ward off predators and others will.

Have a similar appearance to other insects to create confusion all in the hopes of avoiding becoming a meal as they aren't strictly an aggressor in the wild they have a multitude of secondary defenses to avoid conflict using their long legs they might retract or stretch them to resemble becoming.

Inactive and pointless in being attacked also they might bob up and down with the objective to confuse constantly moving their small body they do this individually and as they can live in very large groups they will collectively move this way when threatened their long legs although strange in.

Appearance are one of their best assets as well as dancing defensively they can also flee very effectively bounding over obstacles with ease normally when in groups they will all scatter in different directions their best defense is their scent glands providing a smelly shield to ward off predators letting them know they won't.

Be a tasty meal although they can't physically defeat any spiders the scent gland defense is known to help avoid some of the most brutal of spider predators such as the wolf spider another effective way to deter predators is the form of mimicry quietly pretending to be another insect and likely trying to appear like its.

Spider counterparts this act of defense has probably helped the confusion between the daddy longleg species the crane fly is the last of the three that represent daddy longlegs it looks like a giant mosquito and lives in similar areas around marshes rivers and lakes.

With the typical traits of its namesake the long drooping legs it's known as the worst flying insect its limbs are so large it wobbles as it flies looking like it's strugg
ling to maintain its flight the crane flies larvae are also known as leather jackets due to their tough outer skin.

They're very important in the soil ecosystem as they process organic material increasing microbial activity so why are they even called daddy longlegs there isn't anything scientific behind the meaning there was a mention of the crane fly back in 1744 referring to it as father longlegs in the early 19th century daddy.

Longlegs had become a nickname for a person that was much taller than everyone else whether the name was originally made for tall humans or for long-legged flies as time went on all other insects and spiders around the world that had the similar physical traits long legs with a small body would also be referred to as.

Daddy long legs i guess it was just easier that way